Our Tower
by LunarArtemis
Summary: AU Lily and James were once best friends, but a rumor causes a terrible twist of events. From best friends to bitter enemies, they fight the growing attraction for other budding in them. They face trials, mistrust, and closed doors rendevouz! on Hiatus!
1. A Pleasant Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, sadly. I'd love to though, so if you know how I can, let me know!

A/N: Hey guys! This idea just came into my head and I had to put it up. Tell me how you like this first chapter! The next chapter will be up within two weeks, one week if I get lots of reviews! Lol.

Our Tower

Chapter 1 A Pleasant Reunion

Lily Evans stepped onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters ready for the year at Hogwarts that awaited her. Scanning the platform for any sign of her friends, Lily continued to drag her trunk towards the scarlet train to find a compartment.

At the same time, James Potter found his way into the usual Marauders' compartment at the end of the train. Opening the door, he grinned as he saw his best mates sitting in the compartment already.

"Hey, mates." he greeted, hefting his trunk onto one of the overhead shelves and then placing the safety railing up.

Sirius grinned from where he sat. "Missed you the last couple of days, Prongs. Wish you could have been there." Sirius said. He had spent the last week at Remus' house instead of at the Potters'. James would have stayed, but his mother needed his help with his little sister, Julia, who had come down with a really bad fever. James and his ten year old sister were very close even though they were eight years apart, so James immediately went back home with a few apologies to his best mates.

"Yeah, how's Jules by the way?" Remus asked, looking up from his book. Remus had a lean, almost too lean, figure with sandy blonde hair and metallic baby blue eyes that were easy to get lost in. He stood at an even six foot.

James smiled. "She's getting better, thanks. She sends her regards and orders you guys to owl her once we get to school." His eyes held the amusement evident in his voice. He stood at six foot one with messy black hair that could never be tamed, a lean figure and hazel eyes that showed everything one moment and then nothing the next if he so wished hidden behind round glasses.

Sirius mock saluted. "Aye aye, Captain!" he laughed. Sirius stood the tallest of all the Marauders at six foot two with black shoulder length hair, brown eyes and an equally lean figure as his look-alike. James took a seat across from Sirius and Remus and looked out the window.

"Hey, where's Wormtail?" he asked when he realized the fourth member of their party was still not there. Sirius and Remus shrugged together.

"I don't know." they said simultaneously.

"He'll probably come in right as the train leaves. You know how he is. He never gets on the train until the last minute anyways." Sirius said nonchalantly. Remus nodded in agreement as he looked out the window. James just grinned.

"Oh, hey. There's Lily." Remus said, spotting the redhead on the platform trying to drag her trunk along with her towards the train. "I'm going to go see her." Remus said, putting his book down and getting out of the compartment. Sirius and James looked at each other. They never could figure out how Remus could be friends with her. All she did was study and she was a stickler for the rules. She never broke them and was even one of Professor Slughorn's favorites. But they often heard from the Huffelpuffs that she was good in bed. That didn't seem like Lily but it wasn't like they knew her anyways, so what else were they supposed to believe? She was a hypocrite.

But they didn't really know her so could they really judge her?

"LILY!" Lily heard a somewhat high pitched voice call out her name. Turning around, her questioning face turned into an all out grin as she saw a slim girl with dirty blonde hair racing toward her. Her emerald green eyes sparkled as she saw an two more of her friends coming off the train. She laughed when Amy hugged her tightly.

"AMY! It's so good to see you!" Lily said, hugging her best friend back just as tightly. Once the two girls had let go, Lily found herself in Remus' strong embrace. "REMUS!" she giggled, wrapping her arms around him. Standing on her tip toes, she whispered in his ear. "Did you gather enough courage over the summer to ask Amy out yet?"

Pulling away, she saw Remus blushing red. Shaking his head, he pinched her nose. "No, I didn't and keep it down. She could hear you!" Lily grinned and swatted his hand away. Last year, Lily had discovered Remus' huge crush on Amy. She hadn't told Amy about it, as much as she wanted to. She also knew that Amy had mutual feelings towards Remus, but was too chicken to admit it.

"Honestly, where's their Gryffindor courage?" she muttered. Remus looked down at her five foot four stature as he hefted her trunk.

"I'm sorry, did you say something, Lil?" Lily grinned and shook her head.

"Nope, nothing." she said. Beside Lily and Remus, Amy and Mimi were catching up with everything that happened over the summer. Turning to Mimi, Lily hugged her tightly.

"I missed you so much, Mimi!" Lily said.

Mimi was the tallest of the bunch, standing at five foot nine with brown hair that hung to her shoulders, rare teal eyes and a figure that many of the guys lusted after. She enjoyed many things and liked to take life as it came to her. Mimi Paulini was known to take chances and often had to rely on Lily and Amy to help her get out of trouble. She was intelligent but didn't spend her time studying. Mimi often spoke her mind without thinking of the consequences first which often led to arguments with Amy and Lily. She was a full blooded seventeen year old witch with two older brothers, Mike, who was 19, and Mark, who was 23. Both of them were married with solid jobs as admirable aurors. Mark's wife was expecting a child, who would be born around Christmas. The entire family was excited and Mimi's parents were looking forward to becoming grandparents. Mark was terrified of fatherhood looming so close around the corner, but anyone could tell he was happier than he had ever been.

Amy Roberts stood at five foot four like Lily and had amazing turquoise eyes. She was the shyest of the group, but was certainly no outcast. She was half blooded with a muggle father and an older brother, Joe, who was 21, and was getting married in the spring. Amy was also the new Seventh year Gryffindor Prefect. She also had a younger brother, Ian, entering his fifth year at Hogwarts as a Prefect for Gryffindor. Amy often played Quidditch in their backyard with her brothers and mother, and was rather good, but never went out for the team because she felt it would take away the joy of playing the game if you had to train every night and so on and so forth.

Lily was entering her Seventh year at Hogwarts as Head Girl. She was very pleased that she had gotten this because she had been striving for this position since first year. She was sick and tired of the Slytherins acting as though she was inferior to them, and now she could prove that she wasn't. Lily was the muggleborn of the group with an older sister, Petunia, who she never got along with anymore. Lily loved Quidditch and was an outstanding chaser, but she never went out for the team because she didn't like the idea of being on display for everyone to see her make a fool of herself. Mimi and Amy always told her that she is too hard on herself and doesn't give herself enough credit, but she never listened to them. Aside from being Head Girl, Lily was very stubborn. She was always open to new ideas, but rarely could you talk her out of something once she set her mind to it. Another thing that only her closest friends, aka Amy and Mimi, knew about was that Lily was an avid lyricist and singer, and a very good one at that.

The three girls looked like pushovers, but they certainly weren't. If you messed with one of them, you messed with all of them and dealing with one of them was hard enough. They all were exceptionally accomplished witches.

"C'mon, girls. You can share our compartment if you'd like." Remus said as he held Lily's trunk. The three girls looked at Remus incredulously. Remus sweat dropped.

"You're kidding, right, Remus?" Mimi asked him. Remus laughed nervously. "Share a compartment with the Marauders?"

"Get real, Remus. We love you," Amy blushed furiously when she realized what she just said and looked down so her wouldn't be able to see. "But sharing a compartment with the other Marauders is just asking for trouble."

Lily nodded. "Yes, trouble that we'd rather avoid. Besides, Amy and I have to get to the Prefects' Compartment for the meeting. I made Head Girl." Lily added proudly. Remus smiled and nodded.

"Congrats, Lil. I knew you would." he said. 'This is going to be interesting. I wonder if she knows James is the Head Boy.' Remus thought to himself. "Well, I made Prefect again this year, so if you want, you can store your trunks in our compartment and then we can head over to the meeting." Remus gave a side glance at Amy which only Lily noticed.

Mimi sighed. "Oh all right." she said, looking at Lily and Amy for approval as well. "I guess I can deal with Potter, Black and Pettigrew," she said the last name with more contempt than she did the other names, "for a while whilst you guys are at the meeting." Remus grinned here as they walked onto the train just as its horn blew loud and clear.

"Well, you see, Mimi-" Lily cut him off.

"Remus, did you say you made Prefect!" she blinked at him with her jaw dropped. He nodded. "Damn, I was so sure it was going to be you. Do you know who it is?" she asked quickly before Remus could say anything. He laughed.

"Well, I was getting to that. See, the Head Boy is James."

"James who?" Lily asked not really paying attention to the fact that the James in question was on the other side of the door they were standing next to. Amy slid the door open.

Remus' grin shined from ear to ear. "James Potter."

"NO way!" All three girls whispered. James grinned when he heard his name.

"Yes, that's right, ladies. You get to spend the fabulous ride up to Hogwarts with me, the one, the only, James Potter." he said arrogantly. Sirius just smirked.

"Get real, Potter. They're here to spend the ride up to Hogwarts with me." he winked at them. "Isn't that right?" The three of them just rolled their eyes. Remus stepped into the compartment and stowed Lily's trunk for her. Then, bending down again, he took Amy's trunk from her with a smile and stowed it for her as well.

"Thanks, Remus." she said.

"No problem, Amy." He took a seat next to James and Sirius as Lily, Mimi and Amy situated themselves across from them.

"So, Potter. You're head boy?" Lily asked somewhat curtly. He nodded.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that, Evans?" he asked in the same tone. She shook her head.

"As long as you do the work you're expected to do, no I don't." she said honestly.

"What makes you think I won't?" James asked her. Lily gave a shallow laugh.

"Your reputation for one thing." she said.

"Well, you could be surprised." he retorted. "And you know your reputation isn't squeaky clean either." he said.

He'd hit the mark. Everyone in the room could see it on Lily's face, but Lily, Mimi, Amy, and Remus knew that the reputation was more of a rumor, and a very false rumor at that. Lily had never even dated any Hufflepuff guys. She'd always declined. They'd spread that rumor last year when she declined Amos Diggory's offer to go to the graduation ball with him.

"That was below the belt, James." Remus growled under his breath.

"Potter, we've got nothing more to say to you. If you want to act like a seven year old it's beyond us and we could care less about you. Just watch your back. We know really good neutering charms, and Lily here, is the best at Charms." James, Sirius and even Remus paled when Mimi spoke. Getting up, the three of them left the compartment to head to the Prefects' compartment. Mimi left for the bathroom.

"Lil, don't pay any attention to that asshole. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Amy said. Lily laughed with contempt.

"Actually, if we're talking about sex, I'm sure he does. He's fucked half the girls in the school hasn't he?" Lily knew this for a fact. James and Sirius weren't discreet about their midnight rendezvous with girls. They would tell anyone who was willing to listen, just not the graphic details. Not even they were that daft. And with Bertha Jorkins at the school, it spread like wildfires.

"See you later, girls. I'll plan something to get back at Potter. Maybe I can add Black into the mix just because I don't like him?" she asked with question on her face. Lily and Amy laughed.

"We'll see what you come up with first." Lily said. After waving bye to Mimi, Amy and Lily proceeded to the Prefects' Compartment for the meeting.

Upon arrival, they saw that all they were waiting for were the Slytherin Prefects, Remus and James. Amy saw her brother, Ian, conversing with the other fifth years. Walking over to him, she smiled.

"Hey, Ian. How's it going?" her younger brother looked up at her with his classic blue eyes. He grinned when he saw her.

"Hey, Ames. About time you got here." He got up, standing at a smacking five foot nine, a full five inches taller than his older sister and hugged her to him. The two of them were rather close. Ian had spent the last two weeks of the summer with his friends at his best mates house in northern England. Amy laughed and hugged her brother to her.

"We were a bit detained. We had to deal with Potter and Black." she said as they pulled away. Ian looked over Amy's shoulder to see Lily smiling at him.

"Hey, Lil." He went over and wrapped his arms around her as well.

"Hey, Ian. You've sure gotten taller." she laughed. Height had always been a huge joke between them. In his first year, Ian had only been two inches shorter than Lily. The next year he had been an inch taller than her and started to pay her back for the teasing she had inflicted upon him. All in good fun though. He laughed as well.

"Yeah, and you're just as short as ever." Lily made a face.

"Well aren't we arrogant." she joked.

"Yes, we are." Ian told her. Amy tapped her foot impatiently with a smile on her face.

"I'm waiting for an invite to sit down, Ian." Ian rolled his eyes and then laughed, kneeling.

"Oh great ones," he began, head bent with a hand held out to each of them, "please, have a seat." the girls giggled. They had taught Ian this little 'skit' during their Christmas vacation second year and made him do it every time they needed to sit for dinner. Over the years, it became tradition. Placing a hand in the one he held out to them, he led them to a seat near his friends.

"Thanks, Ian." they giggled. Some of the fifth year girls giggled.

"He's so sweet."

"Did you see that?"

"That was so cute!" Ian blushed as he realized that some of his friends had been watching.

"The fun has arrived!" James and Remus entered the compartment.

"Potter, shut your trap." Lily snapped at him.

"I don't have to listen to you, Evans. You're just a hypocrite." he snapped back.

Lily hated hypocrisy and knew she was anything but, but if James insisted on believing the rumors, then so be it. "Let's get this over with, Potter." she said as the Slytherins came in.

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Hey everyone! This is the first story I've posted online, so tell me what you think! It's going to be a long one that is for sure and I'll probably post twice a month, or more if I get lots of reviews. Flames are allowed, but I really don't like them. Constructive criticism welcome and appreciated! And PRAISE is adored! I Love You All!

Lunar Artemis


	2. Head Dorms

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, sadly. I'd love to though, so if you know how I can, let me know!

Thanks for reviewing chapter 1!

Suddy- you asked for a fight between Lily and James, so you got it! ;-)

X LiL jEsSi x- thanks! R/r!

Our Tower

Chapter 2Head Dorms

Lily sighed as the meeting finished. She didn't see any flaws in the meeting besides the fact that the Slytherins kept yelling obscene words in her face; she simply ignored it. What she didn't notice was the fact that, apart from Ian, Remus and the other Gryffindor prefects, James' fists were being clenched tightly in his pockets as he fought to keep his temper from being unleashed on the Slytherins. Collapsing against one of the chairs against the wall, Lily rubbed her temple. She was having a battle of emotions. She didn't know what to think. James had actually helped her to conduct the meeting. Anyone would be confused right?

Lily was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that one figure stayed where he was. James stared at Lily and examined the look of concentration she had downed.

"Evans, you okay?" he asked. He thought she had been more affected by the Slytherins' comments than she had let on during the meeting; she'd only taken away ten points total. Lily jumped clearly, startled.

She sighed in relief when she saw it was only James, and not a split second later, she turned her surprised look into one of contempt.

"You're still here, Potter? I thought you would've been the first one out of this room." She said, almost rudely. She knew it was overly harsh and that he probably didn't deserve it… 'Wait a minute, Lily.' she thought to herself. 'This is Potter. You hate him.' Lily shook her head and returned James' gaze.

"Well, you don't really know me at all, do you, Evans?" he scoffed. "I just asked if you all right. Next time, I'll just forget you." he said it with such contempt that she just barely held back the wince and James felt himself regret it a second later. Without a word, he left the compartment to go find his friends.

'Potter, you're such an oaf. How could you have been so mean to her. If it wasn't for your stupidity, you two still would have been friends like in second year.' he berated himself. Shaking his head, he tried to get all thoughts of Lily Evans out of his head.

"Hey, James." Sirius greeted. "You finally made it. Did you get side tracked on your way here?" he asked suggestively. Remus, Mimi, Amy, and James all rolled their eyes. James took the liberty of smacking his doglike friend upside the head.

"No, you dolt. I had to deal with Evans." he said. Mimi glared at James and Amy shook her head in a way that clearly said 'Impossible.'

"Where is Lily?" Remus asked. James simply shrugged his shoulders and took one of the empty seats next to Sirius. Not a moment later, Lily slid the compartment door open and sighed as she saw Remus, Mimi, and Amy in there. She looked around the compartment and groaned inwardly when the only available seat was next to James. Not wanting to inconvenience anyone more than necessary, Lily sat next to James and turned to the window after folding her legs up underneath her.

"Hey, Amy, Remus, Mimi…Black." she greeted the last one stiffly. She didn't bother to greet James since she had seen him two minutes earlier. They got into conversation, separate ones, all different, Sirius and James talking about one thing, the girls talking about another and Remus alternating between the two. Soon after the lady with the trolley came and everyone's stomachs were full, they all began to doze off.

A couple of hours later, Remus woke up abruptly. Looking at his watch, he swore silently and then took a look around him. He felt a grin come onto his face when he looked across him. Lily was still in her spot by the window, but James had scooted closer to her so the both of them were pressed tightly into the corner with her head cradled on his shoulder and his head on hers. His arms were around her waist and Lily's hands were resting comfortably on his chest. His gaze skimmed over to Sirius and he had to hold back a laugh. Now he knew why James had scooted over so much. Sirius was sprawled out haphazardly on his seat and part of James' now unoccupied seat. Remus took Lily's digital camera which sat on the ledge of the shelf by the window and took a few pictures of her and James.

It was then he noticed the soft weight on his shoulder and glanced down to see Amy in a slumber. He blushed slightly and shook her lightly. She woke up and blushed, sitting erect when she realized where she had been sleeping.

"Sorry, Remus." she said. Mimi awoke with Amy's voice and rubbed her eyes. She looked around.

"We should wake them up. " Remus glanced at the teenagers across from them and the girls nodded. "One…Two…Three!"

"WAKE UP!" The three still sleeping figures jumped up, causing Lily and James to bump heads and fall to the floor in a tangled heap.

"OW! Potter, get off my hand!" Sirius shook the sleep from his eyes and laughed at the scene around him.

"You guys should at least get a room." Tsk tsk. One track mind, huh? Working together, Lily and James were able to get apart and stand up, a few feet away from each other. Looking at his watch again, Remus sighed.

"We have to change into our robes. And I don't think we have time to take turns. All of us have to change now!" Remus said, the train was all ready slowing down into Hosmeade station.

Without further ado, or thinking of what would happen when all of them, three boys and three girls changed into their Hogwarts Robes in the same compartment at the same time.

By the time any of them realized it, James, Sirius and Remus all had their school uniforms' pants on, but were still topless, and Amy, Lily and Mimi had on their uniforms and were about to button their shirts. Then time froze.

"OH MY GOD!" Lily, Mimi, Amy and Remus said. James just stared and Sirius was grinning from ear to ear.

"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore began his speech. (A/N: I'm going to fast forward through the speech. Everyone knows what he says already ;-))

Later, Lily and James stood stiffly, a feet away from each other, Lily was so tired her eyes were drooping, in front of a portrait of a lagoon with a Pegasus on a lone island. James glanced at Lily. Why did he feel like this? Like he wanted to help her. She looked ready to drop on her feet, or sleep standing up. Opening his mouth, he looked at the Pegasus.

"Gobstoppers." he announced clearly. Nodding, the Pegasus swung open. Cautiously, James grabbed Lily's wrist and pulled her into the room. When Lily realized she was being dragged along, she pulled her wrist out of his grasp.

"What do you think you're doing, Potter?" Lily asked, but couldn't get any venom into her voice. She didn't really feel like fighting, but she was adamant. She wouldn't let anyone hurt her like he had in their second year.

"You are dead on your feet, Evans." he said, looking back. Sighing, he rubbed his hands over his face. He wasn't in the mood to fight either. This was new. "Look, Evans…Lily." he said after slight hesitation. What was wrong with him? He was being nice to her. Why? Lily couldn't understand it, but she blamed it on fatigue. "I'm not the kind of guy who would leave you out there all night. Hell! You're going to sleep right now!" He pointed out. It was true.

Lily was sitting on the couch and she kept nodding off. 'Guess she didn't sleep much last night.' James thought. Sighing, James walked up to her and, knowing he would get a tongue lashing, he hooked his arms around her waist and flipped her over his shoulder.

That woke her up. She felt her anger come out. She began hitting his back while he ascended the stairs to her room. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, POTTER?" Lily repeated for the second time that night.

"Taking you to your room." he answered calmly. She froze. He was nice and then he was unnaturally calm and collected and controlled. Who was he?

Lily's thoughts left her as James dropped her unceremoniously onto the plush Queen sized bed that was in her room with white satin sheets and fluffy pillows. She fell asleep instantly.

Laughing at the irony, James turned from the room and shut her door after turning off the lights. He headed into his room and stripped down to his boxers. Stretching slightly, he pulled back the covers and slid into the warmth. In three minutes, he was out like a light.

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Hey guys, sorry, this chapter is kind of uneventful. A lot of Lily and James though. The fight was kind of pathetic, so sorry, but there will be more on the "Second Year Catastrophe" later. That was the major fight that I wanted to put it. Please tell me what you think of the chapter! I don't care if it's a one word review! Lol. Kudos to Suddy for being my first reviewer! Thanks to all! Please review! Coming up next time: Lily and James, one bathroom, hormones, times tables and classes; Remus, Sirius and Peter (yes, sorry but him too) and Mimi, and Amy and more hormonal reactions to the opposite sexes!


	3. Authority to a Marauder

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, sadly. I'd love to though, so if you know how I can, let me know!

Thanks to everyone who put me on their favorites list!

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Thanks to everyone who put me on their alert list!

curveball, dracosbabygrl, Hnz786, MissKitKat, Silent night walker, slightly unhinged, smarty pants 91, soswimmer13, Suddy, and x LiL jEsSi x

Thanks for reviewing chapter 2!

Enchanted-legend-thank you, I'm so glad you like it! r/r!

Suddy- I love your reviews, have I mentioned that before? Well, they are awesome! I hope you like this chapter; I did even though it is kinda short, but I felt it was necessary. Enjoy!

The all mightly and powerful…- I'm so sorry this took long to get updated, but I have been so busy! Lol, I hope you like this chapter! r/r!

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Slightly unhinged- thanks so much for reviewing! I like that Lily has a bit of spunk as well! r/r!

I was so happy with the replies to the last chapter! I got SIX reviews! I'm hoping to expand that even further! Keep the reviews coming! lol Please read the author's note at the end if you'd like an explanation of my tardiness! lol

Our Tower

Chapter 3 Authority to a Marauder

Two weeks had passed since school had begun, and as expected, when Lily woke up the next morning, she had indeed chewed James out for throwing her over his shoulder the previous night. James merely stood there and rolled his eyes once Lily's back was turned and she was walking away.

Now the Marauders, Lily, Mimi and Amy were sitting in Transfiguration taking notes while McGonagal lectured about the different kinds of animagi.

'This is kind of boring.' James thought.

'We already know all this stuff.' Sirius thought, sighing while holding his head up with his right arm.

'Even Peter knows at least half of this stuff.' Remus thought as he continued to take notes.

'Man, I studied all of this in my spare time third year!' Lily whined inwardly, keeping the cool, nonchalant appearance outwardly.

Thoughts like this flew through the group's heads as the class went on.

"Homework over the weekend and due on my desk Monday morning, an 18 inch essay about animagi, the laws about them, the history of animagi and your opinion about them." Professor McGonagal said crisply, glancing towards Sirius and James.

The majority of the class groaned. Grudgingly, they packed up their things and made their way to various places throughout the castle. The seventh years had a free period after their Double Transfiguration class on Friday mornings. After free period, they would adjourn into the Great Hall for lunch.

Lily found her friends and herself walking towards a huge boulder that was half in and half out of the lake. Putting their things down, the girls took off their shoes and climbed up the short height of the boulder and sat down with their legs stretched out in front of them.

"Can you believe I have to patrol the halls with Potter tonight? Friday night! How awful is that?" Lily vented. She had miraculously avoided James as much as possible while in the Head Dorms. But aside from having to share it with him, she had absolutely fallen in love with her new room.

Amy nodded. "Well, Lil, at least the head boy wasn't someone like Snape. Imagine having to have to patrol the Hogwarts corridors at night looking for anything out of the ordinary when something out of the ordinary is right next to you!" Amy giggled. Mimi began laughing along with her blonde friend and, despite her tries to suppress the smile fighting to make its way through, began laughing as well.

That was how the three of them were found by the infamous Marauders.

"Hello, ladies. May we join three gorgeous ladies such as yourselves for amiable conversation?" Sirius asked elegantly. Mimi looked disgusted. Lily and Amy's faces looked distorted as they fought to keep up façade and look disgusted as well, but amusement was sneaking its way through.

James felt himself grin. He had missed Lily. The past two weeks had been hard on him. He knew that she was only two doors away, all he had to do was walk through the bathroom if he wanted to talk to her, but he didn't think that would bode well with her. He wanted to get back on her good side, not be hated more than Malfoy. James hadn't told any of the other Marauders about this, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Sirius and Remus noticed something.

"C'mon, Prongsie-poo! You can sit right next to your other half!" Sirius said enthusiastically, shoving James towards the spot Lily sat at. Without making eye contact with her, he took off his robes so all he had on was his school uniform, like Sirius and Remus, and expertly climbed up to sit. The other two boys followed suit, seating themselves in between the other girls. Now the arrangement was one that the girls felt could do with a little tweaking. They sat in a circle as follows: Remus, Amy, Sirius, Mimi, James, Lily.

"What do you want?" Mimi demanded, glaring at them, well not Remus, she was smiling at him. She tried to create some distance between herself and Sirius but then she realized that she was caged in between Sirius and James. "Dammit!" she murmured. Sirius jovially put an arm around her.

So the rest of the period was spent with the Marauders talking amiably, Remus talking with the girls, the girls trying to ignore Sirius and James and then lunch and classes. Faster than Lily had hoped, the time to patrol the halls with James had come.

James sat in front of the fire in the Heads' common room, waiting for Lily to come down while finishing his Transfiguration essay. He only had half an inch left, believe it or not, and all he had left to write was his opinion.

_'Animagi have helped…'_ James finished his essay just as the door from Lily's room opened and she came out in her robes with the Head Girl badge pinned visibly to the front. Stiffly, she walked to where he was situated and spoke.

"Ready, Potter?" she asked. He looked up at her and nodded. Standing up, he grabbed his wand and stuffed it into his pocket and closed his inkwell up.

"Let's go, Evans." he said. Lily nodded wordlessly. She was currently lost in thought. This was the fourth, maybe fifth time she was patrolling with James Potter and she was surprised. He went on patrols with her without argument, he made every Prefect meeting, granted there had only been two, but still, she was confused. He was doing everything right. That's not how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be that infamous trouble maker he always was. He was supposed to make Dumbledore change his decision on who Head Boy was to be to Remus. Lost in thought, Lily didn't realize that the two of them had made it all the way to the Astronomy Tower in absolute and a little uncomfortable silence.

Clearing his throat, James attempted to get Lily's attention. "Um, Eva-I mean Lily?" James corrected himself quickly; he had vowed to himself to try and make a truce with Lily Evans. Calling her by her last name wasn't very respectful, and not at all they way to start a conversation when asking for a truce.

Lily broke off from the ambivalence of her thoughts and heeded him with a strange look on her face.

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Hey guys, thanks so much for all of your reviews! I'm so happy that this story is liked! I am sooo sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! Here are my reasons:

-the end of the year is approaching: finals coming up

-AP Exams

-SATs

-ACTs

-Spring Musical for school was last night and tonight, wish me luck! I'm cameraman (well woman, but yeah, lol) so I was busy with rehersals for that all week and then homework and dance and all that good stuff! Lol, make me feel better! Review! I love you all!


	4. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, sadly. I'd love to though, so if you know how I can, let me know!

Thanks for reviewing chapter 3!

Silent night walker- thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this one!

Laughing Maniac- I think I said it in the first chapter, I might not have specified, but yes, all three of them are pretty. I'm glad you like it! r/r!

Suddy- thanks! Thanks so much! I'm so glad you understand how stressful exams are! I don't know how I am possibly juggling everything. Lolz. I love your reviews! I hope you like this chapter, you'll definitely like it! I'm sure of it! r/r!

Hnz786- I'm glad you liked it. It's implied as to why Lily's expression was such in this chapter! Look out for it!

-Scp-- Thanks so much! Glad you love it! It made me so happy to read that when I opened your review alert!

Slightly unhinged- I guess the last chapter did kinda seem like a filler chapter, but it's how I planned it, kinda like a part one, part two thing. I'm glad you still liked it! And I'm happy to see you understand about exams, oh and the musical was a hit! I was so pleased!

XXXgoosie4everXXX- I'm glad you like my story! Bertha Jorkins is older than them. I made her two years older than them in this story, and the rumor was spread in the gang's fifth year; her last year at Hogwarts. Thanks for catching that! r/r!

I was so happy with the replies to the last chapter! I got SEVEN reviews! I'm hoping to expand that even further! Keep the reviews coming!

Our Tower

Chapter 4One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Lily heeded James with an unguarded look for a split second, and then she composed herself quickly, falling into her curious face.

"What?" she asked, not unkindly. He had indeed caught her off guard when he called her by her first name. It had always been surnames for the both of them since their second year…

James shifted slightly, out of nerves or habit, no one would ever know, and looked out the window to see the scenery. The entirety of the Hogwarts grounds could be seen from this very window. It never failed to render him speechless when ever he saw it, or maybe those were circumstances.

"Well, seeing as we're the Heads, we are probably going to be seeing a lot of each other; especially since we share the Heads Tower." James knew he was beating around the bush, he couldn't help it.

'What the hell has gotten into me?' James thought to himself. 'Get a grip, Potter. This is only another girl, it's Evans!' he berated inwardly. This thought flew in his head a few times, but did little to console him or soothe the nerves. Was this really the first time James was swallowing his pride like this…?

….Yes.

Lily felt like she had gotten a bad case of Bobbing head Syndrome. She hadn't stopped nodding her head at what he was saying, though James did seem a little out of whack.

"What I'm saying Lily is that-" but before he could finish his sentence, Lily cut him off.

"Before I let you finish that lovely speech you were making, I'd like to talk." Lily didn't want to let James finish his thoughts. "I'm going to admit that you confuse me, James Harold Potter. You're not what I expected this year. I expected you to do the exact opposite of what you are doing. You've been coming to classes, you're not abusing your authority, you're holding up the duties you have, you haven't picked on anyone, you haven't played any pranks…" the list went on, and while James was very flattered she kept track of all that and paid enough attention, he was getting bored with listening to her talk about it.

"Lily?" he tried. Nothing, she seemed too caught up with listing things about him this year that puzzled him.

'Am I really that hard to understand?' James thought to himself.

"Lily?" he tried again. Still, Lily kept rambling on. Sighing, James didn't know what to do. Lily leant against the wall beside the window seat while he had situated himself comfortably on the window seat.

Without another thought, James stood up, put himself in front of Lily and placed both hands on either side of her shoulders, caging her in and effectively getting her attention. She trailed off as he spoke.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you talk to much?" he asked, and without giving her time to answer, he placed his lips directly on hers.

Lily gasped in surprise. She definitely hadn't been expecting that. His warm lips caressed hers and as much as she didn't want to admit this, she liked the feeling. Breath hot on her skin, lips dancing with his, Lily relaxed and felt her arms lock around his neck.

James bit back a moan he didn't know would be possible to elicit from kissing Lily just to get her to shut up. She was kissing back, much to his surprise as he felt her arms come around his neck, his hands slid down from her shoulders. They touched her arms, causing a series of shivers to come from the petite red headed form, and continued to do so until the arms settled on her waist. In desperation, James pressed himself closer to Lily, further squishing Lily between him and the wall; he needed to get closer.

Lily was the most beautiful girl he'd ever known, though he had never admitted that to her. Maybe part of the reason he kissed her was because of how she looked in the spot she was. The stars and the moon as the only light, her eyes dancing, the joy being radiated off her body. Yes, James could read her, he could read her well. And she could kiss!

Lily felt James' tongue slide along her bottom lip, begging for entry, and immediately, she complied and opened her mouth. This time, twin moans came from the two teenagers. Neither seemed to comprehend what was going on, but both were in heaven.

James' tongue continued to explore the foreign crevices of Lily's mouth. He couldn't seem to get enough of her. Lily felt James' tongue enter her mouth and she was lost.

"Lily…" James moaned. His senses were going haywire. He had never experienced anything like this…Ever. He felt his pants begin to tighten and moaned again. The second after Lily felt him against her thigh, she realized what she was going and came back to her senses, instantly pushing him away.

Breathing heavily, both of them looked on opposite walls, their backs to each other. Finally, Lily gained the voice to speak.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Potter? You can't just go around snogging people because you feel like it! You arrogant prat! I thought you had changed! I guess I was wrong; you're still the same old immature Potter on the inside." Lily said, swiftly turning to leave the Astronomy Tower.

James was stubborn, too; both of them were just too blind to see the common thread between them. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist as she walked past him towards the door. Having no other choice but to look at him, Lily's hair flew as she turned her head to look at the hand he had gripped over her wrist.

"Let go of me, Potter." Lily said, her voice laced with venom. She was shaken from the kiss she had shared with him, and she wanted to be alone so she could regain her bearings.

James' eyes narrowed. "No." he said simply. As Lily began to struggle against his hold, he continued to stand firm. Her wrist wouldn't free from his grasp.

'Damn Quidditch! He's just got to have those stupid, sexy, hot, adorable-what the fuck am I thinking? Forget that! STUPID CHASER MUSCLES!' Lily thought.

"You take just as much responsibility as me, Lily." James started suddenly. Lily looked up at him, anger clearly shown.

"I beg your pardon? YOU kissed ME! Not the other way around!" Lily reminded.

"Ah, but here's the kicker….YOU kissed ME BACK!" James pointed out. Lily simply blinked. He was right. She had kissed him back, and she had enjoyed it. It was the best kiss she had ever had; not that she had had many, but it was still the best.

James had never had a better kiss in his entire life; he was sure of it; and he had kissed a lot! 'Damn, though, does she sure know how to kiss…' was one of the thoughts that floated through his head most often in this thirty minutes after the kiss. Yes, that is right. It had already been thirty minutes since they kissed. Merlin, how time does fly.

Lily couldn't think of anything to say to this. "Let go of me, Potter." she said again. This time though, it lacked the dangerous venom that laced her voice previously and instead had a background sound of an exasperated sigh.

James let go of her wrist. "Done." he said shortly, never taking his eyes from her. Lily began to walk down the stairs when he called after her, his voice never raising above the normal decibal level. "You can't run away from this, Lily. You'll have to talk it over with me sooner or later."

Lily turned back and said three words before continuing on her journey back to the Heads Dorm to her room.

"I can try." she whispered determinedly.

- - - - - - - - - With Sirius and Remus in Gryffindor Tower

Sirius and Remus were in their dorm, chatting on the floor while playing Tonk; a muggle card game Remus had taught Sirius how to play in fourth year.

"I wonder what Prongsie's doing right now. What are the chances that he's snogging the beautiful and gorgeous Lily Evans' brains out right now?" Sirius asked Remus.

Remus looked at him dryly. "I'd like to say next to none." Sirius just grinned and shrugged.

"I can hope for Prongs' sake, can't I? We all know he needs to get some action. He hasn't since…." Sirius paused to think here. Remus couldn't help it as the corners of his mouth turned upward a little.

"Well, Padfoot, why is it, do you think, that Prongs hasn't been getting any action?" Remus asked, with a knowing smile on his face. Sirius looked completely puzzled.

"Well," he began with a sincere look on his face. "I know he's not as devilishly handsome as I, but he's not hopeless, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to get a girl in bed. He's done it before." Sirius started. Remus sighed and shook his head.

"He's changing. Prongs is trying not to be so much of a player. And he's succeeding, too. You could take a leaf out of his book, Paddy, and maybe, I don't know, grow up?" Remus informed a matter-of-factly, adding a straight of three diamonds to his already very long pile of wins.

Sirius 'humph'ed and put his cards down, Remus had won this round. Picking up his quill, he wrote down the letter "N" under his name on their tally parchment. Sirius now stood with a "Ton," and Remus had a "T."

The two of them crawled into their beds and shut off the lights in the dorm with a wave of their wands.

- - - - - - - -With Amy and Mimi in the Gryffindor Tower

"Amy? You still awake?" Mimi whispered into the quiet air of the seventh year girls dorm.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about everything that Lily said today. She wouldn't shut up about how terrible it was to have to patrol with James Potter on Friday night." Amy mimicked as Mimi came over and settled herself at the foot of her bed. The two of them sat Indian style on Amy's bed talking.

"I know. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's getting feelings for Potter. She did talk about him a lot today." Mimi said, a little disgusted with herself at the thought. Amy yawned.

"Well, let's not think about it too much tonight. I'm bushed all of a sudden; maybe I just needed to get that off my chest." Amy said. Mimi stood up and walked back to her bed.

"We'll corner Lily about it later." she said.

Within two minutes, the dormitory was silent except for the even sounds of breathing.

- - - - - - - - - With James in the Heads' Common Room

When James walked into the Heads' common room, he scanned for Lily, but didn't see her or any light coming from her room. Sighing, he padded up the stairs to his room, taking off his robes in the process and threw them over the chair by his desk as he entered his room. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt, tossing that aside as well. He quickly went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and make use of its facilities before returning to his room. He finished stripping down to his boxers and slid into bed.

Looking up at the ceiling, James sighed. "You're going to have a hell of a time trying to get her to talk to you, Potter." he told himself. 'But man can she kiss!' he thought afterwards. He fell asleep not long afterwards, dreaming of a kiss, that sent him to heaven.

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Hey guys, as I said previously, I was really happy with the replies to the last chapter! Could we raise that to twice as much for this next chapter? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Lolz. I want fifteen reviews before I update, I might update at ten reviews! But I would really love 15! More is always good: "The more the merrier!" Anwyays, I think this chapter had a lot of the Lily and James scene that many of you might have been waiting for. If you want Sirius or Remus to have more action, tell me. They're all gonna become major parts soon, I just want to get Lily and James rolling first! Pardon the pun, lol sees crowd staring blankly and coughs okay, bad pun…going now…starts to edge off the stage okay, bye! slips away to study for Biolody exam

Don't forget to press the button that says "go" on the bottom left hand corner! Cookies to those who do (that does mean review, not just pressing the button, lols).


	5. Sirius Accussations

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks so much for all of your awesome reviews! I got 23 new reviews and 18 for chapter 4 alone!

JLForever- well, I can't send you a cookie, but I hope this chapter makes up for it! I'm so glad you like it! r/r!

Hnz786- I'm really happy you liked that part of the chapter! I wasn't sure if anyone would like the conversation I had between Sirius and Remus! Enjoy this next chapter, you can think of it as the substitute for your cookie! (thanks for reviewing twice by the way)

-Scp--lol, well I finally updated! This chapter is more focused on Sirius, but there is certainly Lily and James for you! thanks for reviewing!

waitandsee06-thanks so much for the compliments! You are so sweet!

apotterlover- thanks! I hope you like this one!

the almightly and powerful...- Hmm...I don't know, maybe she does, maybe she doesn't. You'll certainly find out more in this chapter!

x LiL jEsSi x- thanks so much! r/r!

crazylily- I'm so glad you liked it! r/r!

LazyLibra- thanks for the compliment! r/r

Suddy-Thanks for reviewing (until it showed up that is, lol) I love your reviews, you are so sweet!

booklover123-how's this for more?

LilyEvans91- thanks so much! read and review for me please!

grannyHPfan- You are a doll! You're review totally made my day! That was some of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me!

-me-- I'll definitely finish it, no worries! I hope you like this next chapter!

slytherinmuggle-wow, thanks so much. I love your penname, btw, isn't it an oxymoron?

DeviStarre- OMG! You really think so? I'm really excited now. This story is my pet project and I'm really happy you think it has so much potential!

FloggingMollynut-I took biology on the 8th. I'm over with that now, finally! How was history?

futurePOTUS-I'm so happy you reviewed my story even though you didn't feel like reviewing, it really made me excited to hear that you felt the need to share your enthusiasn about my story with me, thanks so much!

Imperial Princess- Thanks so much, you are a sweetheart!

harryismyboyfriend-i am so glad you like it! r/r!

Wynnie- I'm really happy you liked it, ecstatic really, I like your idea, and I already started thinking about where/when I could put that in. I think I know what you are trying to say. It seems like a good idea to me, so I thank you for it! r/r

ALSO...22 OF YOU PUT ME ON YOUR FAVORITES LIST...THANK YOU!

AND...35 OF YOU PUT ME ON YOUR ALERT LIST! ONCE AGAIN...THANK YOU!

AND THIS STORY IS IN ONE C2! YAY!

THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO EVERYONE WHO GRADUATED OR IS GRADUATING THIS YEAR! GOOD JOB GUYS! (I'M ON SUMMER VACATION NOW!)

Our Tower

Chapter 5Sirius Accusations

"POTTER!" Lily's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall. Lily had just walked in and spotted the boy in question sitting with his best mates; the Marauders. _'How dare he?'_ Lily fumed as she stomped towards him. The entire night, she had had dreams about Potter, **NAUGHTY** dreams at that! She didn't know what she was feeling, but she wasn't sure she liked it, so she decided to take her anger out on James Potter; the source of all her frustration-no not SEXUAL frustration-she was sure of that, right?

James turned his head and grinned at the fiery goddess padding her way towards him. He had decided to act according to his feelings towards Lily. He wouldn't let her get to him. He had dreamt of her all night, having her beneath him, having her hands all over him…Her letting him have his hands all over her. It was a great night, only now, if he could have that come true, he was sure he would die happy.

You see, James Potter had realized a little something very important when he woke up this morning, grinning like a goofball and very aroused at his dreams-HE, James Potter, WAS IN LOVE WITH LILY EVANS, and he was man enough not to doubt it. He just didn't know how to tell his mates.

"Yes, Evans?" He asked. Sirius grinned as he and Remus looked on.

"You arrogant prat! I can't stand you!" Lily yelled. Sirius butted in.

"My dear, lovely Lily flower, what, pray tell, has Prongs done now?" he inquired, a slight mischievous grin on his face. Lily faltered. She didn't want anyone to know they had kissed last night. Even more, she didn't want anyone to know-not even Amy or Mimi-that she had dreamt of James Potter and her in bed!

"Umm…he hogged the bathroom this morning!" she said quickly. James grinned and decided to play along.

"You know, Lily darling, as well as anyone, that my hair doesn't always cooperate with me. I need the extra time." he grinned widely at the understatement of his. Of course, he hadn't spent a second over ten minutes in the bathroom before striding out of the Heads Dorm this morning, but whatever, right? If she didn't want anyone to know the real reason she was so pissed at him, then so be it.

Lily was fuming. He was mocking her now! She knew he knew she was lying because he was gone by the time she'd woken up. 'I hate him!' she thought. "Potter," she began stiffly. "You're mop of hair will NEVER be tamed, so don't waste time in the bathroom!" she said angrily before turning her attention to Remus.

She smiled. "Hey, Remus." she gave him a friendly peck on the cheek that many people who had seen before had gotten used to. They knew Lily and Remus didn't harbor any feelings for each other, other than that of a sibling love. "How are you this great Saturday morning?" she asked him, seating herself next to him and ignoring James and Sirius who were sitting across from them. Amy and Mimi never came to breakfast on Saturdays, they usually slept in. At least for the first month of school that is.

Neither of them noticed James' frown towards them, or heard the thoughts of jealousy going through his head. _'Why can't she ever kiss me?'_ he thought. _'She did, last night!'_ a voice in his head reminded him. James grinned goofily. Sirius waved his hand repeatedly in front of his best mate's face until James' snapped out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"See ya, mate. I got a date! Can't keep her waiting now can I?" Sirius grinned and walked out of the Great Hall, whistling to himself. James just shook his head.

He refocused his attention back to Lily and Remus, who seemed to be having a rather animated conversation about the Astrology homework assigned to them two days ago.

"It's due in ten days, Remus. All we have to do is date our chart and put the time of observation on it as well and we should be good to go." Lily said. "I figure I'll do mine one day during patrol." Lily thought while sipping her apple juice. Remus nodded.

"Okay. I guess I'll just stay up one night, or do it during patrol as well." Remus agreed. James just looked on while they talked.

"Don't you guys have anything better to talk about than Astrology homework?" he asked. Lily and Remus both acknowledged him. Remus grinned.

"You mean something important like Quidditch?" he asked. James nodded enthusiastically.

"Exactly, Moony. Exactly. Now, quidditch is an art. A real art." James said seriously.

"Yeah sure, Potter. We all know you want to marry it, so save us the agony of listening to you go on and on, thank you." Lily interrupted him. James just shot her a grin.

"I never knew your name was Quidditch! I always thought it was Lily!" At this, Lily scowled, James was just grinning mischievously and Remus was howling with laughter.

Lily elbowed him, which got him to stop laughing.

"Really, Remus, it's not that funny!" she berated. Remus shook his head in disagreement.

"No, it's not." he agreed with her. James scowled at him, and Lily smiled. And then he made the mistake of continuing. "But if you add the look you had on your face just then, Lily, to Prongs' joke, then yes, yes it is!" he felt himself about to laugh again and forced himself to stiffle it when he saw the look Lily was giving him. If looks could kill, he would be dead, and James would be dead, and brought back to life, only to die again.

It was then that Lily and Remus noticed Sirius was gone.

"Hey, where'd Padfoot go?" Remus asked his mate. James shrugged.

"He said he had a date." James said.

"Oh," Remus said, glancing at Lily. He turned back to James and then smirked. "Then that means that Sirius must be in one of the many broom closets in Hogwarts." Remus said matter-of-factly. James smirked in reply and Lily just rolled her eyes.

"Why do boys only think with their libido?" she muttered to herself and saw both James' and Remus' mouths open in response. She held up a hand. "STOP! IT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION!" she said quickly, downing the rest of her apple juice, wondering why the hell she sat across from James Potter.

- - - - - - - - - With Sirius

Sirius panted. She was good. Sweat glistened on his body as he leaned down to kiss her. Contrary to what his friends thought, Sirius wasn't in one of the school's broom closets, but in the Room of Requirement, with a charm on it so that no one would be able to come in.

"Oh, bloody hell." a voice said beneath him. Sirius looked down at the girl and grinned.

"My thoughts exactly." Sirius agreed. "I think this is the best fuck of my life." Sirius admitted, more to himself than anything. Really, she had skills in the sack, and he knew he did, half the girls in the school knew he did.

She giggled. "Why, thank you very much, Mr. Black, I'll let you know if the sentiments are returned." she flirted. Sirius caught a mischievous look in his eyes and braced himself on his elbows to see her face, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh really?" he said. "Well, I think I'll have to do something about that, don't you? You know, to help along your decision." he grinned and then locked his lips with hers, feeling her laugh against them.

"I'm going to take you places you've never been to." he said, seducing her, inch by glorious inch as his hands slid down her body, and back up again.

She arched and looked at him as he momentarily stopped his torturous journey. "Really? You know, I don't like empty promises." she said, grinning. Sirius merely smirked.

"Babe, this is anything but empty…" and with that, he locked his lips to hers in a searing, open mouthed kiss that left her mind, or what was left of it, swirling around in her head. His tongue played games with hers and his hand went up her body to claim a soft white breast, his hand cupping it. Both of them moaned.

"Sirius…" she moaned. Sirius could feel himself harden and trailed open mouthed kisses down her neck to suckle at the base where her neck and shoulder met. She tilted her head a little so that he gained better access and held Sirius' head there, her hands tangled in his black hair.

Sirius ran his thumb over the pink nipple of the breast he was holding until the peak of the breast was painfully erect, much like a part of his body, and making her ache for him.

"Hurry!" she gasped. "I need you!" she exclaimed.

"No." Sirius said, and on a groan, he lowered his head to the breast that screamed for his attention, taking it into his mouth.

"Oh sweet Merlin." she prayed, riding the pleasurous waves that racked her body as Sirius' mouth worked wonders on one of her breasts, and his hand did its thing on the other.

After giving both breasts equal treatment, Sirius ran kisses all down the side of her body until he got to her thigh. Then she buckled. But he held her in place. His kisses went from her hip, slowly, driving her insane, to just outside the juncture between her thighs, her most sacred and holy place.

Before she knew it, he stuck his tongue in, sending her through and beyond that first impeccably timed peak. And, since he liked the immediate response elicited from her body, without letting her even gasp out his name, he shot his tongue in and out of her repeatedly, grinning as she turned and buckled repeatedly.

Desperate for a taste of him, she reached down and brought his lips back up to hers and made his mind go reeling. She took him in her hands and jabbed his manhood into her stomach, trying to indicate to him, without wasting the breath she didn't have in her lungs, that she was ready for him. He smiled at her and reached down between them, to cup her. She moaned his name and arched into him.

Positioning himself over her, he looked at her, in the eye and then slid into her; her arms wrapped around his neck and her arms wrapped around his waist in response. Once the pain had passed into a deeper, more desirable pleasure, he began to thrust into her at a slow pace, gradually gaining speed as she met him thrust for thrust.

She was going insane. Thousands of different types of pleasures wracked her already trembling body; as did Sirius'. She was climaxing nicely, Sirius could tell. Feeling herself come, she let out a shriek of pleasure in the form of Sirius' name and Sirius let himself follow, spilling his seed into her, and collapsing onto her, spent.

One thing was for sure: Sirius had kept his promise.

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Hey guys! You have no idea how happy I am. As you already know, I received 21 reviews! Can I get thirty this time? I would be so happy! I finished school for the year and I'm now on summer vacation, but I have my SATs and ACTs coming up soon, ouch I know. I really like the response I got for my one-shot, Only Tonight! It was so encouraging. Please read that if you haven't. I would love your feedback to improve my writing before I put up the sequel (which I will soon get around to writing). I want 30 reviews this time before updating, please help that come true! I'll give you a hug!

love always,

Lily


	6. Under the Stars

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 5! 22 reviews!

Imperial Princess- thanks so much for the review!

-Scp-- Thanks. I like the Lily/James chapters best too. Sadly, this one doesn't have much of them in it. Sorry.

Hnz786- thanks so much for your review! That was my favorite part too! I had fun writing it. I'm so pleased you think this story is funny!

Blare.The.Adorable-thanks. I'll put that in soon. If you have a specific kind of scene you want her to yell at him in, let me know!

KeeperofthePineNeedles- thanks a lot. But as to who Sirius was with…That's my secret. ;-) lol. You'll have to continue reading to find out!

Snow Queen72539- Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the luck too!

EastcoastHPgrl- I updated! Sry, not any L/J action in this one. Lots to come in the next one though.

BRaTsKi- thanks so much! As for who the mystery girl is…You'll find out in later chapters! Keep reading!

The all mighty and powerful…- thanks for the review! You'll find out who Sirius was with in later chapters! Keep reading!

crazy lily­- I didn't mention who Sirius was with yet, so don't feel stupid. Lol. Her identity won't be revealed til later!

GrannyHPfan-thanks so much for your review! I appreciate it so much!

XXXgoosie4everXXX-I'm so glad you like my story! Remus gets his spotlight in this chapter!

Suddy- lol, thanks a lot. Drama will come soon. Hope you like this chapter!

Asdfjk;- there's a point to the Sirius part, it's being established. Don't worry. Thanks for the review.

Writerchick13- thanks so much! It made my day reading your review that you think I'm an awesome writer! Thanks so much!

1ss2cs3pa4gf5op6hbp- hey, I remember you! Lol, thanks for taking my advice! I'm so glad you liked it!

Zily-I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the review! Hope you like this next chapter.

RubyRoseTuesday- thanks so much! Don't forget to review!

When I grow up- thanks for the reivew! Sorry for the delay!

Aestas- thanks so much for the compliment. Peter is their friend, but he's kinda breaking away from them ever so slightly. I'm trying to establish that. He comes a little in this chapter. But he'll come in more later.

Love109- thanks for the review! Hope you like this next chapter!

Jug viris- thanks for the reviews! I'm so glad you like my one-shots too! I'm sorry it wouldn't let you review them! Hope you like this next chapter! I didn't wait for thirty, lol, but I got 22.

THANKS TO ALL AGAIN! I'm so sorry for the giant delay. Lots of things happened over the summer…not cool. But it's all being solved now…only one problem:

College Applications are coming into the picture now.

Our Tower

Chapter 6Under the Stars

"Lily, when you see Amy, can you give her this note for me?" he asked her. Lily nodded and pocketed the given note.

After breakfast, Lily hightailed it back to her old dorm room. She wanted to get far away from James Potter. She didn't like to think she was attracted to him.

Entering the Gryffindor Common Room, she glanced around and didn't see her friends anywhere, so she continued on up to the Seventh Years Girls' Dorm.

"AMY! MIMI!" She yelled out when the dorm was empty. She heard commotion in the bathroom and the shook her head. As always, they were both trying to use the bathroom mirror at the same time again.

Leaning against the threshold of the bathroom door, she laughed a little. "You know that one of you could use the mirror above your bedside tables?" she reminded, causing them to stop in action. Mimi had one eye lined and the other completely naked. Amy, on the other hand, had a brush of clear mascara halfway through her eyelashes.

"Oh yeah." they said simply.

"We knew that, Lil. We were just waiting for you to come in here." Mimi laughed.

Amy nodded. "Yeah, to knock the sense back into us." Amy giggled. "Seriously, Lily, how can you wake up before 11 on a Saturday?" she asked.

Lily shrugged as her friends finished putting their make up on. Mimi took her wand and dried her newly washed hair, which set itself with loose curls. "Same way I always have for the past seven years. I just wake up." she said. She went back into the room and plopped down onto Amy's bed and then remembered the note in her pocket.

"Oh, Ames, this is for you." she tossed the note to her friend. "Think fast." she said.

Amy caught it and grinned. "Not a problem." she said. As she opened the note after putting her hair brush down, she spoke. "So, who else thought the five foot potions essay was bogus?" she asked.

"I did." Lily agreed.

"I did. It was so bogus that I didn't even do it yet." Mimi informed them. The other two girls sighed.

"What are we going to do with you, Mimi?" Amy asked as she finally got the note opened. Her eyes scanned the page and as she saw the person it was from, a faint blush that had nothing to do with make up tinged her cheeks. Lily grinned.

"So, who's it from?" Mimi asked. Amy blushed more and Mimi and Lily shared a knowing look. And then together, they recited.

"Remus." and laughed. Hey, they were girls, and loved to tease their friend.

"So, what does he want, Ames?" Mimi asked.

"He wanted to know if we could patrol together tonight instead of splitting up for patrol." Amy said.

"YES!" they answered for her. "You're going to say yes." they ordered her. Amy grinned.

"Yes." she said.

- - - - - - - - With the Marauders…

"Hey, Sirius, I'm holding a Quidditch meeting this afternoon about tryouts. Don't be late." James said as he and Remus strolled into the room. Sirius, looked up from his quidditch magazine and nodded.

"Dude, Quidditch is art. Can't be late for that." he said sincerely, with his right hand over his heart. James grinned.

'I hear ya, man!" The two of them slapped hands. Remus just shook his head.

"You guys are hopeless." he said.

James turned to his other friend. "Remus, why did you ask Lily to give Amy that note?" Sirius perked up at this.

"You asked Evans to give your lady love a note?" he grinned.

Remus blushed. "She's not my lady love." he insisted, appealing as the thought was.

"Oh, okay. Of course, Remus." James said in an unconvinced tone. "So what did you ask her?"

Remus blushed. "I just asked about patrol tonight." he insisted again.

"Of course, that's all." James grinned. The only thing that he and Lily had agreed on that year so far, was to assign Amy and Remus to patrol together and have the Slytherins patrol together.

"So, Remus. Here's some advice." Sirius started.

"Uh-oh." he said in an 'I'm doomed.' kind of voice.

"When you get up to the Astronomy tower. You take her face…" he demonstrated with air in front of him. And he looked at Remus again. "And you kiss her!" he said strongly.

"Kiss the crap out of her." he continued, ignoring the raised eyebrow he was getting from Remus. James just watched in amusement.

"Kiss her until she can't breath. Kiss her like this and like that." and Sirius closed his eyes and make kissy noises at the pretend face in front of him. James was howling with laughter.

Remus merely spoke. "Sirius, mate, you have problems."

"Isn't it wonderful?" he grinned.

"Sirius, did you get laid this morning?" Sirius merely nodded his head, overly hyper. James looked at Remus.

"That explains it." they said together.

"Who with?" James asked.

"C'mon, Prongs, I don't kiss and tell." he said. The other two rolled their eyes just as Peter came in.

- - - - - - - That Afternoon in the Gryffindor Quiddtich Locker Room

"Okay, team." James began, standing in front of the other four boys on his team. "Last year, we lost Piasecki and Jones." he reminded them of their old chaser and keeper, respectively.

"This year, we want a kick ass chaser, someone who can work with us other two chasers," James indicated himself and a sixth year boy. "Piasecki was a hard player to lose, but we can win the cup this year. Who's the best?" he asked, in a loud voice.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the team yelled simultaneously. James finished whatever he had to say and started to conclude the meeting.

"RIGHT! So tomorrow, we're holding tryouts after breakfast. Ten o' clock sharp." he said, and the meeting was adjourned. (A/N: more on Quidditch Tryouts in the next chapter!)

- - - - - - - That night with Remus and Amy

"So…" Remus said, trying to break the somewhat awkward silence. "How long until Lily kills James, do you think?" he asked.

Amy laughed. "Oh, I'd give James just over a month from now. What do you think?" Amy asked, happy that the silence was broken.

Remus shrugged as they walked along the deserted corridor. "I don't know. But I think maybe two months. Lily can control her temper better than that." he insisted.

Amy grinned at him. "You think so, Mr. Lupin?" she asked. Remus smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I do think so, Ms. Roberts." he reinforced. Were the two aware that they were flirting in an empty corridor at school in the middle of the night?

"Okay. Let's make a bet. Punishment is choice of winner, within reason." she suggested. She held out her hand, grinning.

Remus grinned too, and took the soft hand, and shook it. "You're on, Roberts." he laughed.

Amy laughed as well. "Well, when you lose, Lupin, don't come crying to me when you remember that Lily is always on a short fuse when it comes to Jams Potter." she reminded him.

Remus' grin didn't falter. "Okay then, we'll see in a month whether you won or not." he said.

"Deal." the two shook on it again.

They made their way to the Astronomy Tower, to see if there were any couples in there, not that they expected to find anyone.

As they pushed the door open, they heard soft moans in the corner. They looked at each other and then snapped their heads in the other direction, standing next to each other awkwardly.

Remus then remembered his duty and grabbed her hand, leading her to where the couple sat in the corner. "Lumos." Amy whispered, pointing her wand with her right hand to the couple snogging in front of them.

"Smith! Fitzgerald!" Remus identified. The two broke apart and blushed at being caught. "Ten points from both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff." Remus told the fifth years respectively.

"Go back to your dorms, now." Amy said. "Don't take any detours. We'll know." she said. Thanks to the portraits around the castle, they would know. Remus looked at Amy, trying to figure out what she meant by that. Amy didn't have something like the Marauders' Map, right? But Remus didn't know that Amy and the other girls had made friends with most of the portraits.

When they stood alone in the Astronomy tower, Amy's light gone, with only the light of the moon shining through the window, they looked at each other and gulped.

It was just them, under the stars, in the window of the Astronomy Tower.

And the tension was very thick.

So was the attraction.

"Um…I think…I think we should finish patrol?" Amy stuttered as their faces became a little closer.

"Yeah, you might be right." Remus breathed, not gazing away from her face.

But their faces inched ever closer. "You said I was right…" Amy breathed, her eyes fluttering slightly closed as their faces inched ever closer.

"You are." he murmured. His eyelids growing heavy with the desire to close.

"Then…maybe we should…" she managed softly, their lips were just millimeters apart.

POP! BAM! CRASH! BOOM! Peeves came flying though the walls and stopped in the center of the room, just before them. "NAUGHTY students. Out of bed. Tsk tsk. If only the students could be more like me." Peeves said.

"PEEVES!" Filch's roar resounded throughout the seventh floor, just before the entrance to the stairs for the Astronomy Tower.

Amy and Remus jumped apart and cleared their throats. "We should…um…go." Amy suggested when she finally found the word she was looking for.

Remus nodded. "Yeah, good idea." was all he could find the vocabulary to say.

- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hey guys! So sorry again for the huge delay! Lily and James action to come! I won't take forever to update again! I'll update soon! Two-three weeks, max a month. Hopefully, college applications don't get so much in the way. I will update my sequel to my one shots soon. Just got to find some more time. I'M FINALLY SEVENTEEN GUYS! YAY! Birthday was last month! WHEE! (So was my betas! We're eight days apart!)

Love always,

Lily


	7. Amazing Grace

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 6! 26 reviews!

BlueSea14, x0xLazyx0x, Mei1105, Fairy Love, shortyroc, Tiger Lily 2217, When I grow up, Suddy, Untamed Loner, xxquidditchjunkiexx, crazylily, grannyHPfan, PICNIC-at-the-disco, The all mightly and powerful…, love109, k8bob8, writerchick13, Silver whisper, anon., tonks1, Imperial Princess, Sam, RubyBinds, Sweena, Telemachos, and Your ray of Sunshine

Now, without further ado…

Our Tower

Chapter 7 Amazing Grace

The next morning, most of the talk going around Gryffindor was of the try-outs. Most of the people were anxious to see who made the team. James' tryouts were said to be brutal. But then, if you made the team, you were prepared for the worst he'd throw your way.

James stood in the locker rooms once again with the remains of his team. He hoped that tryouts would go well and that they wouldn't have to send anyone to the Hospital Wing for visit to Madame Pomfrey.

In one of the halls on the way to the Quidditch Pitch, five teenagers laughed with each other. One held a broom.

"So you're definitely going to try out?" one asked.

"No turning back now, is there?" the one holding the broom winked. The others laughed.

"James is going to flip!" one of them grinned. The one holding the broom smirked.

"He will. I'll make sure of it." the broom holder said before they exited the castle. The others grinned.

"Won't be a chance in hell that I'd miss this." another teenager said.

On the Pitch, around 20 students had gathered to try out for either the chaser position or the keeper position and in the stands there were another 30 watching. They were all waiting for James and his team to come out of the locker room. Cheers erupted, many of them from all the girls in the stands, as the players flew out from the lockers, did a warm up lap on the pitch and landed in front of the students on the Pitch.

James smiled. It was a good turn out. The 20 or so boys on the pitch were all Quidditch fans, and that was the first thing he looked at. In the stands, four students grinned at each other.

'Sonurus!' James thought before speaking up. "Hey guys! Thanks for coming to tryout for the Quidditch team of ONLY THE BEST HOUSE IN HOGWARTS!!" at this, cheers rose from everyone in the stands and the pitch. James grinned.

"First off, I'm James Potter, Captain and chaser." he introduced himself. A blonde sixth year stepped up from a step behind James and stood next to his captain.

"I'm Seth Marks, chaser."

"Sirius Black, beater." he grinned, flexing his biceps for the ladies in the stands. One of the members in the back of the group on the Quidditch Pitch rolled their eyes. Sirius wore a sleeveless shirt so he was having fun. James shot him amused look and signaled for him to get back.

"Michael Riley, beater." A brown haired fifth year said, stepping up next to Sirius. And lastly,

"Ky Winthrop, seeker." the dirty blonde haired sixth year said.

"And we need a chaser and a keeper to fill in the blanks." James stepped up again. "First off, we need you to divide into two groups. One for the chasers, and one for the keepers. We're going to try the Chasers first, so keepers, you can relax for a bit." James grinned.

"Accio Chaser slips!" James waved his wand and all of the slips the prospective chasers in Gryffindor fell into his hand. He slipped them onto his clipboard and grinned. He saw that no one had moved into groups yet.

"Keepers, over there!" he ordered pointing to the wall of the pitch. Half of the group moved to the left, giving James a better view of those left. He grinned. "Great, okay, first up…" James looked at the first slip in the pile and his eyes nearly bugged out. One member in the Chaser group grinned from the back.

"Psst, Sirius, mate, look at this." James whispered, calling his friend over. "What do you read?" he asked his friend, pointing to the name on the slip. Sirius looked down at the slip and had a similar and equally comedic reaction as James.

"Bloody hell…" he muttered.

"CAN WE GET ON WITH THIS ALREADY?" someone yelled from the stands. Indeed they knew what name was on the paper. This name was the one holding the broom of the five teenagers that were mentioned earlier. James squared his shoulders and looked back at the group of chasers. He only saw guys.

"EVANS!!!" he bellowed, looking around.

"Yes?" a smug voice came from behind the males on the pitch trying out for chaser. The group split, leaving James with a clear sight of a girl holding a Comet 2000. It was Lily.

James swallowed as cheers rang out from the stands-mostly guys and Lily's friends. Lily wore a tight green spaghetti strapped top that had had the midriff cut off and a pair of loose capris that hung low at her hips. "What are you doing here? I'm trying to hold tryouts." he asked her.

She nodded and started walking up to the team. "I'm aware of that. That's why I'm here."

Sirius burst out laughing. "Ha! That's a laugh, Evans. You can't even fly. You've said so every year." Some of the guys laughed with him. James smirked at Lily, but it faltered as he saw her still confident face.

"Black, haven't you ever heard the phrase: 'I'll believe it when I see it with my own eyes'?" Lily asked. Before Sirius could answer, Lily had hopped onto her broom and flown straight up into the air, amongst the cheers of her friends in the stands. She sped around the pitch at an amazing speed with apparent ease. James scoffed. So what? She could fly around the Quidditch Pitch.

Her next move wiped the smirk off everyone's faces. She jumped off the broom and held on with one hand, let herself swing around and under and back over and onto the broom again. She kept flying around the pitch and went to the center. She dove a little and about forty feet above ground she laid flat on her broom and rolled horizontally and shot straight back up, and towards the stands where she high fived Amy and Mimi and accepted Remus' thumb's up. She shot back over to the pitch and landed directly in front of James.

The team was speechless, James was almost gaping and whispers were breaking out around them. Lily just stood smugly. She'd practiced flying since she'd first come to Hogwarts after that embarrassing first flying lesson in first year. But she'd never told anyone except for Amy, Mimi and Remus.

"So, when do we start the actual tryouts?" Lily grinned. James seemed to come to his senses. He'd be crazy to not give someone who could fly like that a chance. Now he'd have to see her chaser skills. He was sure to get her stuck on this one. But even so, he wrote 'Excellent flying' on her slip under her name.

"Okay, Evans, lets see what you've got." James said, tossing his clipboard to Sirius and grabbing his broom. Lily smirked again as all three of them, she, James and Seth who had the quaffle, went airborne.

Immediately, Lily knew her arm muscles would be put to work, and she didn't care. She loved playing chaser. James and Seth worked her hard on drills, but she caught everyone of them. The three of them flew up and down the pitch, randomly. Lily even intercepted the quaffle when James tried to catch what Seth had thrown at him. Sweat glistened on her skin, but she smiled as she played. Sirius watched from the ground, making notes on Lily's slip. Around them, students were whispering and pointing to Lily.

"EVANS, YOU'RE SEXY!!" came a guy's voice from the stands. Cat calls and wolf whistles followed the statement, from both the pitch and the stands. Mimi and Amy laughed, as Remus, jokingly wolf whistled as well. Lily, without losing focus waved to them and shouted.

"THANKS!" before shooting off to the other side. James' fists clenched on his broom.

'It's too fucking true.' he thought to himself as he tried to take the quaffle from Lily, only to be avoided. He admitted to himself that she was the sexiest girl in Hogwarts. And it took a lot of effort not to look down her shirt every time she flattened herself against her broom. Okay, so he'd peaked a few times. But he was a 17 year old hormonal boy. And he'd liked what he'd seen. It was a good view. He grinned at the thought as he flew.

"GO LILY!!" Mimi and Amy cheered their friend on. Lily grinned at them as the three of them landed, panting a little. Applause rang out. Yeah, Lily was good. The team knew it, the spectators knew it, the prospective chasers knew it, James knew it, and Lily knew it. A few of the chasers stepped forward and took back their slips from Sirius, burning the paper into flames and letting the ashes disappear. They knew that they couldn't top that so they headed to the stands to watch. James and Lily stared at each other. Seth came over to Lily when James turned to consult Lily's slip and Sirius.

"Lily, I didn't know you could do that! How come you never told anyone?" Seth asked. He was a prefect and the two of them were friends. Lily grinned and hugged him.

"Some things are better kept to yourself, Seth." Lily winked. Seth grinned.

"Did I mention that you are looking fine!?" he asked, playfully looking her up and down. She laughed and playfully swatted his arm.

"Don't let Artemis hear you say that." she warned, speaking of Artemis Winthrop, Seth's girlfriend. Seth shook his head.

"Artemis is cool, she knows I don't mean anything by it. It's Ky I need to worry about." Seth said grinning as Ky walked over. Ky and Artemis were fraternal twins with Ky being older by 22 minutes.

"Seth…" Ky greeted his friend and teammate. "Just because I let you date my sister and because you're my friend doesn't mean I won't pound you if you hurt her." he warned, this time only playfully, but the threat had been made before, and heeded.

"No worries, Ky. You know I'm crazy about Artemis." he said. They all laughed.

James came over and cleared his throat.

"Okay, Evans. You're done for today. List goes up tomorrow after dinner. You're free to go." he said not unkindly. Lily nodded.

"Okay, Potter. Thanks." she said, heading for the stands to meet her friends before going into the castle. As she walked away, James' grin came back onto his face.

"Hey EVANS!" she stopped and turned with a raised eyebrow, hands at the waist of her capris.

"YES POTTER?" she yelled over to him.

"WANT TO MEET ME IN THE ASTRONOMY TOWER?" he grinned.

"NO!" she yelled back. She ran towards the stands, blushing as she remembered what happened there last time.

'Prick.' she thought.

Tryouts continued for a good portion of the day. The players didn't get in until 6. They showered and headed for dinner.

Lily was all smiles. She was the talk of the Gryffindor table, and quickly the school was wondering what the Gryffindors were so excited about.

Speaking of dinner…right after dinner Monday night, Lily was walking to her dorm when Mimi and Amy grabbed her and headed for the Gryffindor Common Room. A group was huddled around a bulletin board. It was obvious to see that from who made up the group, they were looking at who got the positions of chaser and keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Lily shoved her way through, anticipation growing with her every step until she got to the board. Quickly, she skimmed the notice.

_Gryffindor Quidditch Team for 1976-1977_

_Captain: James Potter_

_Seeker: Ky Winthrop_

_Beaters: Sirius Black and Michael Riley_

_Keeper: Rei Minami_

_Chasers: James Potter, Seth Marks and Lily Evans_

_CONGRATULATIONS on making the team!_

_Meeting in Professor McGonagal's classroom Wednesday night._

Lily could barely hold in her excitement. She squealed and jumped up in joy. She hugged Mimi and Amy at the same time before she turned and saw Seth grinning at her. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, hugging Artemis as she let go of Seth as well.

The sixth year Gryffindor Prefects gave her a quick thumb's up before Lily turned to Remus. She smiled happily before throwing her arms around her friend as he let out a laugh and squeezed her tightly, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. "Nice job, Lils." Remus complimented.

James and Sirius stood a little ways away, watching the pure joy on Lily's face.

Maybe they were wrong about her..?

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Hey guys! So, I'm terribly sorry about the long wait. I did have college applications taking up the majority of my free time for the past few months. October was a bitch. I didn't even see my neighbors at all that month! So I made sure this chapter was long, well, longer than most of my chapters :-D. Happy Holidays a little late to everyone and Happy New Year!

Love always,

LunarArtemis

p.s. don't forget to review! I want 30 this time before my next update!


	8. Second Year Mistakes

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 7! 39 reviews for chapter 7 alone!!

Untamed Loner, Lily, NyxShadow, Drunk Cow, Eve1980, SiriusAllPunked, lilalex13, crazylily, blueholly, Suddy, k8bob8, Your ray of Sunshine, Telemachos, potterlady4691, bittersweet315, piggy396, iloveSkaterBoys, me, Super Cara, Princess Eclpise, Jenny, writerchick13, Imperial Princess, grannyHPfan, Jules93, Tiger Lily 2217, KeeperofthePineNeedles, Witchyalex, love109, jillybean90, Watch Out for Yellow Moon, zhangie, Julia Est Belle, Jules.(x2!), MyMuSiC, Ghost44, SweetSouthernGal, and Hawaiiangirl!

This chapter is extra long because of the long wait! It's actually my longest chapter thus far! I'm really happy with it. It's a gift to all of you from me in celebration of me getting into my first choice university!

_Hey LunarArtemis  
Just wanted to say that you're a fab writer and that chapter was great!  
Can't wait to read more...  
ps. if you ever want to get permission from J.K.Rowling to write a book on the Marauders, Lily etc. you should...  
pps. thanks for writing these stories up!!_

_-Jules93_

This chapter is dedicated to SiriusAllPunked for being my 100th reviewer!

Now…onto Chapter 8.

Our Tower

Chapter 8Second Year Mistakes

Making the Quidditch team had Lily feeling elated all week. From being the worst flier in Gryffindor, Peter included, she'd become the best candidate for the chaser position. That just made her day…or in this case week.

James had spent much of his free time trying to figure Lily out. Free time does not include the time he took out to ask her out or planning pranks with the Marauders-with minimal actual participation on that issue. He couldn't figure out if Lily was really how some of the Hufflepuffs said she was, or if Lily really was different…If she was still the same Lily he'd been friends with during their first year.

'Potter, you dimwit, get your head back in the game…' he thought to himself as he poured over his Quidditch plays charts at his desk one morning. He'd been up for about an hour already finalizing some of the new Quidditch plays he'd come up with that incorporated both Lily's and Rei's strengths and weaknesses into the team.

James glanced at his clock briefly which said 'You've still got time, but you could play it safe and get ready for breakfast.' Closing his notebook with all his Quidditch plays in them, James locked it shut and stowed it in the bottom of his trunk wrapped up in his Invisibility Cloak.

Hey, his Quidditch plays were sacred.

Ten minutes later, James stepped out of the shower with one towel wrapped around his waist and another tackling the dark mop of hair on his head. Grateful that the mirror had an _Un-fogging Charm_ on it, James took out a bottle of gel in an attempt to try and tame his hair.'

"Ugh…" Lily groaned as she stumbled into the bathroom holding her head with her eyes closed. The only thing she had on was a green sports bra and matching sophies and she seemed completely unaware of James' existence in the bathroom.

James stood there, stunned. The bottle of gel was an inch away from his hand and Lily was a sight. The redhead before him was slightly flushed with her hair falling down her back and over her shoulders in loose waves as it was naturally. Her green eyes were not yet awake and were clouded like the mirror was not.

Lily started muttering to herself-something about the Potions Practical they had today-James' guessed she was going over the ingredients and still had made no gesture that she'd realized he was half naked in the bathroom. Lily started to walk towards the towel rack when she slipped on the towel James had tossed carelessly on the floor after drying his hair with it.

"Ack!" Lily let out a yelp and waited for the contact with the floor. But instead, she felt herself pressed against a hard, lean, very naked chest.

Lily found herself holding onto James' biceps and looking into his eyes…

'This is Potter right?' she asked herself, blinking frantically to clear her vision.

"Sweet mother of Merlin, Evans, you're burning up!" James broke the silence as he felt her body against his, with one of his arms banded around her waist and the other holding her side just along her ribs.

"No, you're just hot from your shower, Potter…Now you need to let me go. Lily has to go take a shower." Lily said, starting out firmly but shortly afterwards beginning to get a little delirious and talking about herself in third person. Lily pushed out of James' grasp, which wasn't easy. "Lily has to get ready for school. Potions Practical today. Yes…got to get ready for school…" Lily began muttering incoherently and James had a feeling that Lily wasn't all to aware who he was at the moment, or that he was only wearing a towel or that he'd been using the bathroom when she'd stumbled in, half dressed.

'Yeah, she definitely can't go to classes today.' he thought to himself, stepping into his room to slip on a pair of boxers and his pants from his uniform. Zipping his pants up, he left the top button undone as was habit, and strolled back into the bathroom where Lily was trying to walk to the shower in a straight line-not really succeeding.

She really couldn't stand on her own two feet.

James sighed. She really was stubborn.

"Okay, Evans, up you get," he said, tugging her wrist in his grasp upwards and pulling her to her feet. He hauled her against him again and placed his forehead against hers. "As I thought, you've a fever. Go back into bed." he ordered her.

Lily shook her head childishly. "You can't tell me what to do, Potter! I'm getting ready for school!" she said, waking up finally. She tried to wrench her wrist out of his grasp, but James Potter could be stubborn, too. "Let go!"

"No." he said. He was much stronger than her, but added to that was the fact that Lily didn't even have the strength to stand on her own, there was no match and no question as to who won the tug of war on Lily's wrist. To simplify matters, he took them into his own hands.

Literally.

"Sorry, Evans." he said nonchalantly before tossing her over his shoulder. He walked through her door, noting that she'd gone limp over his shoulder, simply groaning a little.

With a little more finesse than he used to put her over his shoulder, James gently lowered Lily to her bed and tucked her in.

"I need to get ready for class." she argued weakly. James tucked the covers around her.

"You're not going to class today, Evans." James said, not unkindly. He could feel the heat of the fever an inch or two from her body. Taking out his wand from the pocket of his pants, he waved it quickly one way and another before a reading of numbers settled above Lily.

"102.7...103...103.2...103.2 degrees Fahrenheit, Evans. You're not going anywhere. Except maybe into one of Madame Pomfrey's infamous tubs of ice." Lily's eyes popped wide open at this statement and James could've sworn she'd paled a little before the heat restored the color to her cheeks. He smirked at this.

Leaning down, he placed his lips at her ear. "Then you listen to me today. Or the next place you'll find yourself will be stuck in one of those tubs." he said cheerfully.

Lily nodded, almost horrified. James straightened and smiled. "Now, then, how about a spot of breakfast?" he asked her.

'I'm being looked after by a lunatic!' Lily thought to herself before she lost consciousness.

James went into his room and took out his two way mirror.

"Sirius!" he said, looking into it.

Down at breakfast, a handsome black haired seventh year took out an identical mirror and saw James' face grinning back at him.

"Prongs, mate! Where are you?" Sirius asked him. "Breakfast has started and" Sirius gasped dramatically here, "You're not here yet!" he exclaimed horrified.

James laughed. "Yeah, I know breakfast has started." His stomach had been telling him to put something in it for the past 30 minutes.

"Listen, Padfoot, are Roberts or Paulini around you anywhere?" Remus' face appeared in the mirror as well as he shoved Sirius' partially aside.

"Yeah, they're right next to me. Why?" he answered for Sirius, who merely glared and stuffed an entire piece of sausage into his mouth.

"Evans has a temperature, so she won't be coming to classes. Just let them know that okay? I won't be coming either." he added as an afterthought. Sirius smirked at this and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Prongs is going to get some action today! Oh yeah!" he cheered. Remus slapped his friend upside the head before he disappeared to go tell Amy and Mimi about Lily's fever. James just grinned.

"No thanks, mate. When I take someone to bed, I'd like them to be aware that its me with them and not someone else." he grinned. "Mate, she was completely delirious…talking about getting in the shower when I was in the bathroom!" he laughed.

Sirius couldn't help but laugh at this. "Well, I'm going to go tell Roberts and Paulini about Evans. You know Moony doesn't have the charm I have with the ladies." Sirius said cockily. James laughed again before they both broke the connection.

"Paulini, Roberts!" Sirius called out to the two girls sitting not far from the Marauders. The two girls in question looked up at Remus and Sirius.

"Yes, Black?" Mimi answered almost coldly. "What do you want?"

Remus elbowed Sirius in the ribs and, leaving Sirius to massage the bruised side, turned to the girls himself.

"Amy, Mimi, Lily's got a fever so she won't be coming to classes. James just told us. We wanted you girls to know."

Amy smiled. "Thanks, Remus, for letting us know. I was wondering why Lily wasn't down here yet." Remus blushed faintly and nodded.

"No problem." he insisted. Sirius chuckled behind his hand none too discretely. Mimi rolled her eyes at Sirius while both Amy and Remus proceeded to blush more.

Meanwhile, back in the Heads Dorms, James had stowed away his mirror and gone down to the fireplace.

"Hogwarts Kitchens!" James said, throwing in some floo powder. A house elf's head appeared in the fireplace. Hey, they had privileges as Heads, that included being able to Floo the ktichens.

"Yes, Master James?" a familiar voice squeaked out. "Leti is wanting to serve you."

"It's good to see you, Leti. I wonder if you could bring Evans and me some breakfast here in our dorm? Evans has a fever and needs to stay in bed." he explained.

Leti nodded eagerly. "Yes, Master James. Leti is bringing Master James breakfast for you and Mistress Lily! Leti brings potion for Mistress Lily too!" James smiled.

"Thanks a lot, Leti. I knew I could count on you." James said before the house elf's head disappeared. James straightened up and looked up the stairs to Lily's room.

"I wonder if she's awake yet…" he shook his head at the thought. "I'll probably know when she's awake. She'll probably stumble down the stairs insisting on going to class…" he shook his head at the thought.

"Whatever, Evans." he said to himself, before stretching out on the couch with his latest subscription to 'Quidditch Plays and Ploys.'

Meanwhile, upstairs in Lily's room, she was indeed not yet awake. But her dreams weren't that great either. Her dreams…were more like reliving a nightmare…

_12 year old James had just finished trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Lily hurried down from the stands to see her best friend. Although she was an awful flier, she had come to try outs to support her best friend._

_As she rounded the last set of stairs, Lily ran out onto the field where James was laughing with a bunch of the other Gryffindors on the team, and those who'd just tried out. _

_"James!" Lily called out, running towards him. James turned around, broom in hand to see Lily running towards him with a big smile on her face._

_"Hey Lil!" James waved at his friend. Lily didn't bother to slow down as she approached James. Instead, she let herself collide with him, knowing that he'd brace himself._

_She wasn't disappointed. James knew her well. _

_James also kept a secret from her. James had been crushing on his redheaded best friend for the better part of the passed summer and still fancied her._

_Lily threw her arms around her best friend and laughed. "James, you were amazing!" she said into his shoulder. Then she smelled him and wrinkled her nose. Pushing away, she whined at him._

_"You smell!" James just laughed._

_"Well, I think that deserves another hug don't you?" he said, holding out his arms. Lily squealed. _

_"No way!" she said taking a step back, but James was quick and caught her wrist. Lily went into a fit of giggles._

_"No!" she squealed as he pulled her closer yet. James grinned at her while he heard Sirius' bark-like laughter behind him. "Remus, help me!" Lily managed through giggles. Remus merely grinned like his fellow Marauders._

_"Sorry, Lilyflower." Sirius grinned at her._

_"Seems to us that we've been glued to our spots." Remus finished his sentence. Both of them, on cue, pretended to be glued to the ground._

_"Lil…seems you're at my mercy." James grinned. "It's just a little sweat, my dear." he said, laughing at the look on Lily's face._

_"No, James! You smell! No!" she giggled the entire time. Tears were about ready to fall from all her laughing._

_"What's the matter, Evans. Not as willing to do it with Potter as you were with me?" a voice said. The giggling ceased and every Gryffindor's head turned to see the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team making their way onto the pitch for their own try-outs._

_Lily froze. What the hell was he talking about?_

_Diggory grinned at the Marauders, Lily, Amy and Mimi, the last two of whom had just joined them on the pitch._

_"What the fuck are you talking about, Diggory?" Mimi growled at the fifth year, Hufflepuff Seeker._

_Amos grinned and waved at Lily. Lily simply stood there, stunned._

_"Evans is pretty good for a 12 year old, I must say. Don't you think, mate?" Amos asked his friend. The blonde beside him grinned._

_"She's a screamer." he laughed. All six pairs of the second years's eyes popped out. They were old enough to know what the Hufflepuff Team was talking about._

_"It's not true." Lily muttered._

_James, Sirius, Amy, Mimi and Remus glared at Amos and his friend. But it seemed like every Hufflepuff guy out on the Pitch had something to say._

_"I don't know mate, she held in her screams with me." another Hufflepuff grinned. Several other Hufflepuffs made their comments as well. Lily'd gone completely pale but she hadn't made another statement since her first one._

_Amy and Mimi had their hands and jaws clenched tightly. Remus was shaking slightly in anger and Sirius and James looked a little unsure of whom to trust._

_Finally though, it seemed they made their decision as the Hufflepuffs walked further into the Pitch to hold their try outs, laughing all the while._

_Lily merely stood there._

_Suddenly, James turned on her. "You whore!" he yelled. She just barely withheld a flinch._

_"Watch it, Potter!" Mimi came up to stand beside Lily. "That's my best friend you're dissing." she glared at the brown eyed boy. Sirius came up behind James as Amy joined her girl friends._

_"So? She's a whore. A slut. Only good for one thing it seems. They all said you were a good fuck, Lily." Sirius said. "Maybe one day I'll test that out for myself." Sirius was mad. Lily had slept with all of those boys, and all the while, she'd had a clue that James had a crush on her. Sirius saw the look that had passed in his best friend's eyes. _

_Betrayal…hurt…anger…Sirius wouldn't let some floozy hurt his best friend like that. Even if she had been one of his own best friends once upon a time._

_Remus opted to stay out of this for now. He didn't believe that what the Hufflepuffs said is true. He'd always been a good judge of character and he'd seen Lily's reaction to what they said, and what had passed in her eyes wasn't the horror of what was being said being revealed, but the horror of such extreme rumors being spread about her._

_Lily merely shook her head in protest to the accusations being tossed at her._

_"You BITCH!" James yelled again. "I know you knew I had a crush on you! And still…you go around and sleep with all of them? I can't believe I fell for your innocent act!" James laughed ironically at himself. _

_"I'm a fool. I was deceived by you." James let his broom fall, knowing Sirius would catch it, and stomped towards Lily. Amy and Mimi walked in front of their friend, glaring at James, trying to block his way to the stunned redhead, but James merely shoved passed them._

_"I never realized you were such a good actress, Evans." James sneered, using her last name. Lily's eyes widened and instinctively, she took a step back in defense. The look in his eyes was rabid. This wasn't her best friend with whom, just ten minutes earlier, she'd been laughing and joking around with._

_But James, despite his angered state, was still quick as ever and grabbed her wrist in a painful death grip. She yelped out in pain._

_"James!" Remus protested as he heard Lily's yelp of pain as James grasped her wrist. But James ignored Lily and his friend. Amy and Mimi were both held back by an angry Sirius, who, with one look had held Amy away from James and Lily, and was currently squeezing Mimi so tightly, the air was escaping her lungs._

_James glared at Lily, leaning down a little so they were eye to eye. _

_"Slut. 'Haven't had your first kiss yet,' my ass." he mocked before crushing his lips down on hers painfully. Lily's eyes widened and she started struggling a little, making sounds of protest in her throat. She tried to push away from the cold kiss, but James held her still._

_His voice ran through her head, coldly repeating her surname. Over and over and over again._

"Evans!" James said again before Lily woke up, sweating. Although most of the sweat was from the recollection of the day her life at Hogwarts turned a little upside down, some of the sweat was from her fever. James took a cold cloth and wiped her forehead a bit.

Lily looked confused. "Breakfast is here, Evans." he said before setting her pillows up against the headboard of her bed.

Lily, still slightly delirious from her fever merely stared. She felt his hands grip her naked waist and set her into a sitting position, leaning against the copious amount of pillows. He placed a tray full of breakfast foods on her lap and sat down at the chair he'd pulled from her desk to her bedside, with a tray of his own breakfast on her bedside table.

"Eat." he said simply, before digging into his own pancakes.

Then she voiced the one thought that had been going through her head since she'd seen him hovering over her when she woke up.

"Why are you here? Why do you care if I have a fever?"

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Hey everyone! Well, I've good news and bad news! Good news is: I'm in this huge writing mood and I've got the time to write! Well…I'm making the time to write. The bad news is: I'm majorly depressed right now because of something that happened at school on Friday. That's partially why I'm in such a big writing mood. It calms me down. Anyways, I was so happy with the reviews I got last time! Please, make me happy again and review. Being depressed isn't fun.

Love always,

Lunar Artemis


	9. Cloud Nine

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 8! 41 reviews for chapter 8 alone!!

Untamed Loner, SweetSouthernGal, Princess Eclipse, juliejane., BlAcKdAuGhTeR, quidditchgirl13, Mei1105, crazylily, anny, katty1818, writers are INSANE, Super Cara, midnightmoon21, writerchick13, blueholly, Julia Est Belle, k8bob8, Your ray of Sunshine, potterlady4691, grannyHPfan, love109, tigerwhisper, whitephoenix33, KeeperofthePineNeedles, MyMuSiC, bryanna, fudge-butter, jess, Perks, TearsofBlack101, purplecrazy2291, james'n'lily'4eva, Mrs Claire Potter, Emo-anime-lover66, Zhangie., xxlilyandjamesxx, smartalic, c5vettegirl, MotherCrumpet, Beckettsbabe09, and kittens0020!!!

Okay:

First off, I loved both Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book!!! Both were FANTASTIC!!! If anyone wishes to discuss it with me, I won't put any spoilers on here because that would be mean, but feel free to PM me! I'd LOVE to talk about it with you. And yes, I did cry.

I'm SOOO SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!!

Secondly, you'll notice I changed the spelling of Amy's name to Aimie. I loved that spelling and couldn't help changing it. I'll eventually go back and edit all of my chapters to have that spelling. I'm sooo sorry if it annoys anyone.

And now on with the show!

Chapter 9 Cloud Nine

James blinked. "Why do I care?" he repeated dumbly.

Lily nodded. James gave a nervous laugh. That was a good question. One in which he wasn't too sure he wanted to divulge any answers to yet.

"Um…Because…" he searched his head for a reasonable answer. Why is it he could come up with excuses galore with his professors, but his mind went blank with Lily?

"Because you're a fellow Gryffindor and one of my Chasers. We have a match against Slytherin coming up." he added the last part as the inspiration hit him.

Lily twisted her fork around in her pancakes unable to eat much. The room felt extremely hot but she didn't complain.

"Potter, that's a load of bull." she said, not unkindly. She looked him in the eyes, her own heavy lidded and cloudy. Her face had a red blush to it from her fever. Overall, Lily's appearance made James swallow in his suddenly dry throat.

"Eat, Evans." he tried for an authoritative tone that he usually used for Quidditch. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Oh Mighty Lord. I shall do as thou so bid." she answered somewhat sarcastically. Inwardly though, she was touched by James' efforts. 'No, Lily. You made that mistake once. It didn't do you any good. You can't trust him.' she berated herself.

But still…Little things went a long way. James looked up from his near empty tray and sighed. He knew what she must've been thinking. Putting aside his tray, James got up and sat on Lily's bed facing her.

"I know we're not friends anymore, Lily." Lily was surprised at his use of her first name. He was using it more often now. Both Lily and James felt a pang in their hearts when James said that they weren't friends anymore. Startled by the reaction, Lily steeled herself against it.

"So? It's not my fault we aren't." she remembered the day clearly. As if it was yesterday.

So did James.

"Yes, it is." he said quietly, his fists clenched and his eyes slightly angry. Didn't she understand? If she hadn't slept with Diggory and those other Hufflepuffs and played with his heart like she had, they would've still been friends, maybe even more. The thought tortured James since, for some reason, he still wanted Lily.

Lily grew angry. "No, it's not! If you'd really been my friend, you would've believe ME and not someone you hated!" she said, barely restraining her voice from getting louder. James stood up from the bed, his tall frame towering over her.

"You're mad because they told me the truth. I remember your face when Diggory told us!"

Lily put her breakfast tray on her nightstand and indignantly stood up on her bed. She swayed for a second and fought of a wave of dizziness but held her ground.

"You thick prat!" she retorted. "If that's what you think then you don't deserve having my trust!" she said, thinking that that's what this was about.

"This isn't about regaining your trust, Evans!" James yelled back. He stood up on the bed as well and once again, his frame overpowered hers. "I'm not going to sit back and watch as you run such a high fever! Just let me help you get better!" he shot back. Lily pursed her lips. She knew he was caring and would help even Snape in a life or death situation. (A/N: lol couldn't help but put that in.) What she hadn't thought of was the fact that James Potter might actually remember that she wouldn't go to the Hospital Wing for a fever or cold.

"I don't need your help, Potter." she insisted, more to convince herself than him. Ironically though, her body chose that time to begin failing on her. Swaying violently, she groaned and tried to regain her balance when her world spun, blurred and began darkening.

Ever the hero, James reflexively caught her around the waist, pulling her hard and tight against his own body for the second time that morning.

"Lily! For your own sake, stop being so stubborn and let me help you!" He said, using his arms to secure her limp form against him. She merely groaned in his arms again and buried her face into his chest submissively, as if hiding her face from view would make her fever go away.

James' face softened as he looked down at the top of the head of the girl he loved. He bent his head and placed a feather light kiss on her red hair. Knowing that her submissiveness was her signal of her acceptance of his help, he lifted her gently into his arms.

Lily, with her head on one of his shoulders stared at him blankly with hidden surprise. She was touched, despite her best efforts not to be. Carefully, James stepped toward the edge of Lily's bed and then leapt nimbly off with the fever ridden redhead in his arms. As he placed her in her bed, she continued to stare at him.

'If he hates me so much, why does he still go out of his way to help me?' she asked. She knew the answer to that already though. James Potter was a man, who, despite what she said, she knew would always lend a helping hand to those who needed it.

She'd never been one to make a big deal out of being sick. It was never a big deal at home. If she was sick, then she was sick, but she'd carry on with her day and pretend otherwise. But being pampered by James like this, even though they were no longer friends, well, the thought almost brought tears to her eyes.

She was amazingly relaxed, which was something because she was running a temperature on top of being around James. She let a small smile appear on her face. A small, genuine show of gratitude and appreciation from her to him.

'She's beautiful.' James thought, smiling back at her as he saw the smile. Sitting down on the side of her bed, he brushed his fingers across her forehead, brushing her hair away in a soothing manner. 'I know she's not a mean person. She's just on her guard around me. We did have that awful fall out in Second Year…Was Lily really at fault? Was Diggory really just making it up because Lily said no? Or was Lily just saying that to hide the reality of it all?' James couldn't help but go back to those questions which he'd previously buried deep inside himself.

"Let's leave the past where it is for now, Lily." he said, looking her in the eyes. They were heavy lidded with fatigue and fever. She nodded in agreement after a minute of searching his eyes for any hint of deceit and finding none.

She began to drift off when James snaked his arm under her shoulders and supported her weight as he brought her into a slightly sitting position. She needed to take her potion first. In his other hand, he held the cup that contained Lily's potion. He put it to her lips but they remained closed like her eyes almost were.

"C'mon, Lily. Drink this." he urged, but Lily's lips stayed closed. Her eyes were closed as well and her breathing was even. Well, as even as it could be with a fever. James sighed.

'If I don't give Lily this potion before she sleeps, Leti will have my hide!' James thought. He stared at the clear liquid whose looks did very well in concealing its wretched taste. James was very familiar with the potion because his mother would force him to drink it twice a day when he was sick. Swallowing, he nodded his head and put the cup to his own lips.

Emptying its contents into his mouth, he put the cup on the table and then took Lily's chin with his free hand. Opening her mouth by pulling on her chin, James placed his lips on her and began feeding her the potion.

Lily's eyes flew open when she felt James place his lips on hers gently and start feeding her the potion. The gentleness killed her. She gulped down the potion, not even tasting it because she felt so drunk on the feel of his lips.

When he'd fed her all of the potion in his mouth, he lingered on her lips for a moment before pulling away an inch. Using the thumb from the hand that held her chin, James wiped away the bits of the potion which had escaped the confines of their lip lock.

"Get some rest, Lily." he whispered, pulling out his wand, waving it at the curtains so they were drawn, throwing the room into semi-darkness and lowering her already sleeping form back down to her pillows. She had a small smile on her lips when James glanced back at her face.

He shifted to get off the bed, but found his right arm clasped by Lily's hands. He could feel the heat from her fever radiating off her body still. He could've easily escaped her clutches but as he watched her sleep, he found that he didn't have the heart to pull away.

"For today, let's just forget anything ever happened." he said quietly, sliding under the covers with her. He propped up his right knee and rested against the headboard while he let Lily cuddle up against his left side.

"Alright, Lily?" he asked her sleeping form. It was dark in the room but James could've sworn he'd seen her smile grow a little before sleep overcame him as well.

- - - - - - - - - 11:00 am (2 Hours Later)

The one bad thing about Friday mornings was Double Transfiguration. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Aimie and Mimi were packing up their bags, waiting anxiously with the rest of the class to be dismissed.

"Class dismissed." Chairs were heard scraping against the wooden floor as students scrambled out. "I will be returning your Animagi essays to you. We'll discuss it next class!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed after them.

The five of them were nearly out the door when McGonagall called them back.

"Mr. Lupin, Ms. Roberts, where are Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans?" she asked as the five approached her desk. "I'm sure I'll get a straight answer out of my own Seventh Year Prefects." he eyes held a none-too-discrete look in them.

"Well, you see, Minnie, it's like this…" Sirius piped up before anyone could stop him. "James and Evans have got some previous engagements they're taking care of right now. Sirius said with a serious expression on his face-no pun intended.

Professor McGonagall, needless to say, did not look amused.

"Thank you for that debriefing, Mr. Black. Perhaps I should debrief you on your real name because I was sure yours was Black and Remus' was 'Lupin'." she said unblinkingly.

"C'mon, Minnie!" Sirius began.

"Professor McGongall." She corrected curtly. "Now, Remus, Aimie, answer my question. Why weren't my Heads in class today?"

Mimi elbowed Sirius hard in the ribs before the black haired boy could open his mouth again. "Shut up, Black." she snapped.

Simultaneously, Remus began to answer.

"See, Professor, Lily apparently woke up this morning with a pretty high fever. James said she was completely delirious." Remus began.

"And Lily would never go to the Hospital Wing for something as trivial as a fever." Aimie added, quoting Lily for what she once said.

"Exactly, so James stayed behind to watch over her and told us he'd make up the work he missed." McGonagall looked thoughtful for a moment, but she knew her Heads and her Prefects. Remus and Aimie wouldn't lie to her.

Peter gulped nervously thinking they were about to get reprimanded.

"Alright. Be sure to contact Madame Pomfrey if Ms. Evans' condition worsens. I'll check in on her myself this afternoon." the five nodded.

Eager to make the most of the Free Period before Lunch, the group dashed out of the room.

"Let's go to the Heads' Dorm." Remus suggested.

"Yeah, we should make sure Lily and James haven't tried to kill each other yet." Mimi added dryly.

"Um-I'm-I'm g-going to pass. I n-need to finish studying for our Potions Practical." Peter excused himself. Remus and Sirius waved him goodbye without questioning him. Mimi and Aimie gave him curt nods.

They headed towards the painting of The Lone Unicorn on the Island in the Lagoon talking about their Animagi essays.

"That essay was so easy." Sirius boasted. "I had to shorten mine." Mimi laughed at this.

"That's rich, coming from you!"

"Just wait and see, Paulini. You'll eat those words." Sirius grinned Before Mimi could retort, Aimie interrupted with the Heads' password.

"Gobstoppers." The painting swung open and the four of them climbed through the hole.

Sirius looked around the Common Room but didn't see his best friend anywhere in sight.

"Prongs?" he called out.

"Maybe he's tending to Lily. No doubt Leti brought up some food." Remus said, starting to ascend the stairs to Lily's room after Aimie and Mimi.

Sirius clambered up after them but the grin on his face revealed his suggestive thoughts on the matter.

He bounded through the threshold of Lily's door and promptly bumped into Remus. He looked at Remus, Mimi and Aimie who stood in front of him with their jaws dropped and their eyes widened.

Sirius followed their gazes to Lily's bed and found himself mimicking his friends' reactions.

On the bed, he found Lily in her Pjs (which was a green sports bra that was he could see) and James topless. James was resting against the headboard with one knee propped up and Lily's head on his lap. Their arms were wrapped around each other.

"Holy shit." they muttered simultaneously.

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Hey everyone. I'm so sorry for the delay. I meant to get this up earlier, but I won't bore you with excuses. I'm out of the country right now, but I tapped into my neighbor's wi-fi and so I'm posting this now:D I was hit with sooo much inspiration recently. I'm in LONDON!!! Home of Harry Potter. So hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up quickly. Hope you like this chapter, I loved writing it.

Don't forget to review. I LOVE hearing your input. I really liked Lily and James in this one. They're really opening up to each other a little more now.

Love always,

Lunar Artemis


	10. Tender Feelings

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 9! 55 reviews for chapter 9 alone!!

writerchick13, vintage bluejeans, BlAcKdAuGhTeR, k8bob8, -Scp-, Sky-Blue-Eyes, TearsofBlack101, KeeperofthePineNeedles, Helper of the Moon, whitephoenix33, En-En-Chan, metamorphmagus chick, TenTenXIrista, Mrs Claire Potter, fredisntforgotten, MotherCrumpet, sammiiejeanne, Isabella Swan, JustTrippin, Amazingly-amazing, grannyHPfan, llamadelagua, thatsrillyweird, Princess Eclpise, Final Heaven Zero, The Evil Sheep, Anni Lupu, ohome, Julia Est Bella, firequartz, Padfoot7Prongs, T-H-E- OANA, Cymru01, dracosbabygrl, potterlady4691, cosmopolitan, Youkoforever, WhiteCamellia, LILYandJAMESareCUTE, brianna24, Tiger Lily 2217, Aliolyoxenfree, modern-marauder, santaclausrules18, gwvixen21, Crazy Huni, athoshg, Camila101, mary, siabrach, The viEns of hIStorY, WestSide Love, Hermit Lives, LaliLove, and hockeygirl9.

Okay…I owe you all a HUGE apology for the delay on this chapter. School become chaotic and I was really stuck on how part of this chapter should go but I hope I got it right now. I did accidentally update my old chapter ten that I decided against using. I wasn't really happy with that version but without realizing it, I posted that one. So I'm sorry to those of you who read that awful chapter. Here's the real chapter ten….I'm MUCH happier with this one.

I hope you all enjoy this!!

Chapter 10 Tender Feelings

Lily and James stirred slightly at the sound and emerald green met chocolate brown as two pairs of eyes fluttered open. After two seconds, in which the newly arrived group simply stared, Lily opened her mouth and screamed.

Quickly, she tried scrambling up, but got tangled in the sheets with James. Still fever ridden, she had no idea what she was doing and rolled off the bed. Because James was caught in the sheets with her, and because he had tried to stop her from rolling off, he fell with her.

"Ugh!" rang two grunts. Aimie, Mimi, Remus and Sirius quickly picked up their jaws and ran to the side of the bed where their friends had fallen.

"HAHAHA!!" Sirius burst out laughing at the sight in front of him. On the floor, Lily and James were wrapped up together by the blanket in a cocoon like thing with Lily on top of James. James looked surprised but very contented with their position all the same.

"Shut up, Black!" Mimi elbowed the young man. It effectively shut him up. The black haired wizard wheezed and coughed and stayed quiet to watch the show.

Lightheaded, Lily had had her head on James' shoulder once they had fallen. Picking her head up, she looked into his eyes.

"Hi." He said simply. Lily swallowed.

"Hi." She replied, unable to say much more of anything else.

'Oh, Merlin! I'm lying on top of James Potter while only wearing my pajamas! What else is in store for me today?' she thought to herself. Turning her head, she saw the audience over her shoulder. She groaned.

"I wouldn't mind some help up." She hinted.

"Certainly." James answered from beneath her just as Remus, Aimie and Mimi were about to step forward to help Lily off of James.

"Huh?" Mimi and Aimie looked confused. Remus just sighed and Sirius grinned. If they knew their best friend, and they did, then this next event would be VERY entertaining.

Before Lily could do anything more to try and get off the Head Boy, the young man in question, with a move they had all missed, had flipped their positions so that Lily was underneath James. James straddled Lily and kept his weight off her by raising himself on his hands and knees. Getting off of her, he shook the blanket away, bent down and picked her up.

"There you go." He grinned, placing her on her feet. But he remained cautious and weary of her dizziness and kept an arm around her just in case. Lily's reaction, though, surprised everyone accounted for in the room. She just began laughing. Remus, Sirius, and James, who'd all been grinning, stopped short and stared in amazement. Lily was laughing at James' antics instead of reprimanding him. The six of them all laughed together before realizing one thing. They stared at each other in silence for a minute.

'It's like second year…' they thought back to the last time they had all laughed together.

'Lily's definitely still feverish.' Mimi thought.

After a moment, things returned to normal.

"Nice pajamas, Evans." Sirius grinned suggestively. Aimie and Remus sighed, resigned. Mimi and James sent glares his way and Lily's fists clenched at her sides.

"Go find a broom closet, Black." Lily retorted.

"Only if you come with me." He shot back charmingly. They both knew he didn't mean it. Just the same, James' arm briefly tightened the hold it had on Lily's waist. Mimi rolled her eyes and Aimie and Remus had begun to converse amongst themselves.

"Well then I guess Hell is your only option." Lily said back. Sirius' hand flew to his chest as though he'd been wounded.

"You stabbed me in the heart, Evans!" He played.

Remus laughed and then nudged Sirius towards the door. "Come on, guys, let's go, we've got to get to our next class." Mimi and Aimie waved good bye to Lily and turned to the door.

"Oh, before we go, Potter?" James looked over to Mimi and Aimie from his conversation with Remus and Sirius.

"Paulini." James said simply.

"You better take care of her!" Mimi said. James simply smiled.

"Take care mate," Sirius said, seeing Lily was losing consciousness and starting to slump against James.

"McGonagall said that you will have to make up the work you missed, James." Remus added before they disappeared through the door.

"Yeah, well…" James started as he lifted Lily up into his arms. "That's to be expected, isn't it?" he said, putting the unconscious Lily in her bed.

Lily slowly started to recover from her fever thanks to James diligence. Neither one brought it to attention, but thoughts about why James did this not only circulated in Lily's head, but James' own head as well. Usually he could figure out why he did something, why he felt some way…But this time, he came to a dead end no matter which way he turned.

Although to some, the answer was staring them in the face. James was in love with Lily.

While heading into Hogsmeade the Saturday after Lily had fallen sick, Sirius finally brought the question to the surface.

"Prongs, mate, what the devils were you thinking sticking around Evans for a few days? And while she was sick nonetheless?" Sirius said as the four went inside Zonkos.

"I don't know, Padfoot, Something about seeing her so ill that morning, I just couldn't leave her like that. She was so insisting about not going to the Hospital Wing and then she was trying to…" James trailed off, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes and replaced his glasses on his head.

"Prongs, mate, it's called Love." Remus prompted. James' head snapped to his best friend.

"Don't be ridiculous, Moony. This is EVANS. I have better taste than to fall in love with a whore." James spat in contempt that he didn't really feel inside.

"She's not a whore, James!" Remus defended his friend reflexively.

"Yes, she is, Remus. You remember what Diggory said back in second year. All of his friends were talking…" James had to stop thinking about it. "Anyways, it's her word against ALL of theirs."

"And as her best friend you should have taken hers." Remus said strongly but quietly. James opened his mouth to retaliate but closed it quickly when he realized that Remus had a point.

"L-lets go get those s-supplies." Peter squeaked, somewhat scared to break the tension between the other three. Sirius nodded.

"Good call, Wormtail." He said, slapping the smaller boy on the back and leading the way down the isles of prank supplies.

James and Remus looked at each other and sighed. Putting the argument aside for now, they went and followed their friends.

Meanwhile, the redheaded witch in question was going around Hogsmeade with Aimie and Mimi. Because the fever hadn't completely left her body, the three girls were going around the town much slower than the Marauders. Having just left the Three Broomsticks and warmed up with butterbeers, they walked into Honeyduke's Sweet Shop.

"Lily, make sure you keep that scarf on, I know you said you were hot, but it's chilly outside and when you're feverish you don't realize that your body is actually colder than it seems." Aimie reminded her friend. Lily smiled.

"Don't worry, Ames. It's still on. Besides, I don't think Mimi here would allow me to get it off anyways." She laughed.

"Damn straight." Mimi said. "Lily?"

"Yeah?" Lily regarded her friend while getting a few Chocolate Frogs.

"Why didn't you just go to the Hospital Wing when you were so sick? I know you hate it, but when you think about the alternative…" Mimi finished the question with her eyes.

Lily bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know. Potter really wasn't bad, surprisingly. He just kind of took it on himself to watch over me while I was sick. Maybe he's not as bad as-"

"Bite your tongue!" Mimi cut her off. Aimie shook her head and then laughed.

"C'mon, girls, let's go buy-"

"AAAHHHHHH!!" A shrill scream penetrated the joyous atmosphere. Customers dropped what they held and pedestrians ran every which way. Heads snapped to look out shop windows and saw small clusters of the dooming black robe and masked figures with their wands out.

"DEATHEATERS!" Screams and shouts resounded all over the town as the individuals in question raided, pillaged and plundered without a second thought.

Witches and wizards of all ages ran this way and that. Store windows were shattered and merchandise was broken as spells went AWOL.

The three seventh years ran out of the shop amongst the terrified screams with their wands at the ready. They ran to the center of the horror and met up with the Marauders who were also running in the same direction.

The seven Gryffindors came upon the center of Hogsmeade and found deatheaters apparating into a circle.

"Shit!" They whispered to themselves in unison. Peter was bent over at the knees from sprinting to keep up with his friends during the run. Lily was breathing harder than she usually would from the short run from Honeyduke's to the center of Hogsmeade.

The deatheaters looked at the new arrivals and then swarmed them. Suddenly, each Gryffindor found themselves dueling at least one, if not then two, deatheaters at a time.

Feeling a little sluggish, Lily faced her opponent.

"What do you want?" she demanded as she brandished her wand once more.

"Mudbloods like you, Evans, need to be taught a lesson. The same goes for blood traitors like Potter!" The deatheater said. "_Crucio_!" Lily just barely side stepped the curse, her reflexes slower than usual, and glared at her opponent.

"What do you want with Potter?" she asked in frustration. "_Rictusempra_!" The deatheater didn't even have to dodge the attack. She aimed it way out in left field. He laughed at her.

"This is why mudbloods don't deserve to learn magic. They can't do anything with it!" A malicious tone of voice came from her opponent that caused Lily to just barely contain a chill. "The Dark Lord has special plans for Potter."

"Special plans?" Lily stopped short. "_Protego_-UGH!!" she shouted the shield charm a second too late. Her opponent's curse hit her in the stomach and threw her into the air. Having been completely winded by the curse, Lily couldn't even find it in her to scream as she began to feel herself falling down again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw the redhead flying through the air and cursed under his breath. "_Duro_!" Immediately, the deatheater Sirius was dueling turned to stone. Tightening his grip on his wand, Sirius ran over to the estimated place where Lily would fall and caught the redheaded witch just in time.

"Evans! Are you okay? Evans!" It was a stupid question to ask. Lily's face was clammy and pale, but Sirius needed to find out if she was still responsive. Lily nodded weakly and swallowed.

"Thanks, Black." She said sincerely as Sirius put her on her feet.

"Sirius, what happened?" James asked, having seen Sirius catch Lily.

"I saw her flying through the air and-_Furnunculus!_-when I caught her she looks like she's ready to pass out." Sirius said, as he dueled beside James against a few deatheaters.

James listened and pulled Lily out of the way of an oncoming curse. "_Impedimenta_!" he shouted. He dueled while pulling Lily along with him. "Evans, I know this is not the time but you should have stayed back from the Hogsmeade trip today. You're still feverish!"

"_Finite Incantatem_!" Lily shouted. "Thank you, Potter. Your timing is impeccable." She said but there was no hate behind her words.

"Ahhh!" Aimie's scream penetrated the air as she was put under the Cruciatus Curse.

"AIMIE!" Mimi shouted; her voice laced with worry and horror.

"_EXPELLIARMUS_! _STUPIFY_!" Remus shouted, disarming and stunning his and Aimie's opponents before running over to the fallen Gryffindor. When he got to her, she was rolled up in a ball, her face twisted with pain, on her side, with silent tears going down her face. He stopped short at the sight he saw.

"Aimie…!" he knelt down and, counting on his fellow Marauders to have his back while he did this, took her into his arms and began administering healing spells. "_Episkey_."

Suddenly, it seemed as though time had stopped and all movement had ceased.

A chill far colder than the wind and weather had become present and the humorless chuckle that resounded echoed in all of their ears.

Standing in the center point of Hogsmeade, was a tall, skinny, pale, barely surpassable man in jet black robes and a wand in his right hand.

Lord Voldemort had made his appearance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hey everyone! Again, I'm SOO sorry for the delay. I feel terrible about it. I have reasons, but I won't bore you with them.

And also, everyone please congratulate my beta, she took part in her first musical and has been nominated for an award at school because of her performance! Way to go!!

Love always,

Lunar Artemis


	11. Once Defied

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to those of you who reviewed Chapter 10! 38 reviews!!

love109, Mrs Claire Potter, The viEns of hIStorY, lilyevans-luvs-jamespotter, Lilian85, BlAcKdAuGhTeR, brianna24, WhiteCamellia, Jules., WestSide Love, Blueberre, LILYandJAMESareCUTE, Coolbluesmile, hockeygirl9, pippapear, marie., emerald-hazel eyes, Princess Eclpise, LaliLove, dracosbabygrl, Raf, chelli, Chelle-Lynn, modern-marauder, HPO, khs2011, LilyHeartsMarauders, obsessedwithjamespotter, KeeperofthePineNeedles, Quail, v bj, Blue-Eyed Chica, diamonddreamer, fanglessphysco, angelofmynightmare,scribbles.pooksta, neko.kitsune.tenshi., and kat

Also, some of you were subject to reading Chapter 10 immediately after I updated, I am sorry to say that the first time I updated Chapter 10, it was NOT the write document. I had written chapter 10 over again-only to update using the first one I'd written. For those of you who have not read the edited version of Chapter 10, I implore you to do so as I am MUCH happier with it.

_**PLEASE READ THIS!! IMPORTANT!!**_ Moreover, last time I received two rather nasty reviews that I don't very well appreciate. I will not name names, but they know who they are. I will once again mention that I DO NOT tolerate flames. I accept praise and constructive criticism. Many of you are also writers and you know how hurtful flames can be. Fillers are often hated, but I believe a necessary part of each and every story. I am not forcing any one to read my story so please do not write me a review saying that my chapter was so badly written you couldn't even finish it or telling me it doesn't have a decent plot line. It does. I write first and foremost for myself and I love knowing that other people are enjoying what I write. Please read my story, but only if you want to. I will continue to write it and I hope to have even more readers in the future than I do now. I'm not naïve enough to believe that everyone who reads my story will like it because I know everyone has different tastes, but I would appreciate it if hurtful comments could be suppressed.

Sorry to have preached to the choir about that, but I feel very strongly about things like that. So here's to chapter 11, one of my longest chapters so far, and I daresay it is what a lot of you have been waiting for since reading chapter ten ;-).

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to KeeperofthePineNeedles. Thanks for your support!

Our Tower

Chapter 11 Once Defied

Taking a slow look around, Voldemort saw a few of his followers fallen on the sides as well as some merely out of commission. But he was pleased to see that there were bodies of those who did not follow him also littering the floor. A smile cracked his pale face.

And shudders ran though the bodies of those present that did not bear Voldemort's mark.

"It looks like the party has started without me." He began. He stepped forward, his robes billowing out around him by an unseen wind. The air was still chilly and if anyone dared breathe, their breath came out in clouds of smoke in front of them.

James, although he had not moved since Voldemort had arrived, had not taken his eyes from the dark wizard despite the blatant fear that danced through the atmosphere. Instead, his eyes held, not fear, but obvious disdain for the pale man and defiance. Voldemort caught sight of the Gryffindors and laughed.

"What's this? Dumbledore's precious students think they can take on my army?" he laughed loudly, some conscious deatheathers joined him in his amusement, but the minute he stopped laughing, so did his followers.

"No, of course my army wouldn't be defeated by mere Hogwarts students." He thought blissfully. "But enough of this talk…" With a discrete wave of his wand, the setup changed. His deatheaters had formed a circle around him, in order of their ranks. The bodies of the students had been neglected on one side, and the bodies of the deatheaters had disappeared all together.

The Marauders, Lily, Aimie and Mimi looked around in shock. What had just happened? Before they had a chance to contemplate it anymore, Voldemort had brandished his wand once again.

"Ack…ugh…" the sound of choking filled the air and all eyes flew to the figure floating in the air at the center of the circle, seemingly being held up by his neck.

"JAMES!" Remus and Sirius yelled, being the first ones to break the silence since Voldemort's arrival.

Voldemort laughed. "Potter, I must say it is an honor to be here with you…" he grinned as he watched the Head Boy struggle for air and release. Even through that, James' eyes held an undisguised hatred for Voldemort.

"Bastard! Let him down!" Sirius ordered. A deatheater, from behind Voldemort, waved his wand and had Sirius sliding backwards into the wall of a store.

"Mind you manners when talking to my Lord!" he growled out. Sirius merely glared. Voldemort, though, did release James from the hold his wand had on him. James crumbled to the ground and coughed as he got on all fours.

Breathing heavily, James held his wand tightly and got to his feet. "Sirius said it. You're a sick bastard."

"Join my ranks, Potter." Voldemort said, having had enough of the idle chit chat. "Together, we could do great things." He said.

"I'd die first." James turned down the offer without hesitation. Voldemort's eyes narrowed.

"Well, then. I'm sure we can arrange that." And with his raised arm, and the duel began. Sirius and Remus stood up to run to James' side as well, but Voldemort's raised wand turned on them.

"Now, I never realized that Gryffindors dueled unfairly." He tutted and waved his wand at the remaining students in the clearing. "_Incarcerous Mobilicorpus!_" The Gryffindors in question clenched their fists as they found themselves tied up, hands straight out to the sides and their ankles bound together. The remaining three Marauders, Lily, Aimie and Mimi were hovering 6 feet above the ground, as if bound to a Cross and offered as sacrifices.

"A snake like you shouldn't talk about dueling unfairly. It's a religion to you." Lily spat weakly, struggling against her binds.

"_Expulso!_" James' voice rang out enraged. Voldemort's reflexes were something to brag about. Without blinking a twisted eye, the wizard's wand had produced a shield through non-verbal magic. He chuckled.

"Very good, Mr. Potter. Now the fun begins! _Crucio!_" James dodged the spell as he heard his friends' shouts for his life.

'Dumbledore! I have to be able to get Professor Dumbledore! But how..?' James thought as he sent another curse at his opponent. _"Confringo!_" he yelled.

The curse caught its intended target on the shoulder and a small explosion occurred upon impact. When the smoke cleared, blood was seeping down Voldemort's robes from his left shoulder and his eyes were feral. The deatheaters made a move to interfere seeing that their Lord was hurt, but Voldemort's voice rose above their voices.

"No one is to interfere! Potter is mine to kill!" he bellowed out with authority that had every deatheater getting back into perfect position as they had been in. Breathing hard, James tried to think of how to get them all back to Hogwarts safely.

"_Crucio!_" Voldemort said simply, seeing James' mind was elsewhere.

"JAMES! MOVE!"

"PRONGS!"

"POTTER!" the helpless cries of warning from his friends reached his ears too late and James went down on his back as unspeakable pain burned through his body.

"AAAHHHHHH!!" Although he didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction, James couldn't hold the gut-wrenching cries of pain back. Thousands of red hot needles were piercing his skin and going through his body. Potent knives and daggers slashed at his skin, sending his nerves panicking. Or at least that's what it felt like. He writhed, turned, twisted and yelled as the curse wreaked havoc on his body. On his soul.

The other Gryffindors that were tied up began struggling like no other, calling out to James and insisting that the curse be lifted. The relish in Voldemort's eyes showed anyone who dared look straight at them the enjoyment he was getting from seeing James in pain. Five minutes passed and James' voice was no longer heard but the pain and suffering was still evident. James no longer had the energy to scream out the pain he felt. And one voice rang above all the laughter of the deatheater's.

"YOU CHICKEN-HEARTED COWARDLY BASTARD! LET HIM GO!" Suddenly all the laughter stopped and Voldemort broke the connection between his wand and James. All heads turned to see a redhead heaving air into her lungs looking feral, gaze directly at Voldemort. James lay limply on his side in the center of Hogsmeade, only half conscious to his surroundings.

'It hurts to move…' he thought. 'It hurts to breathe.' He tried to breathe again but immediately, his body screamed out in protest.

'It hurts…' he concluded, letting his breathing remain shallow and light as he tried to recover some energy.

"A mudblood dares speak to the Dark Lord like that? I'll teach you some manners!" A deatheater fairly close to Voldemort in the Inner Circle said, but before he could get his wand, Voldemort had thrown out his arm.

"Don't move. I've a vested interest in Evans." He said, flicking his wand.

"Eee!!" Lily squealed as the spells binding her and holding her up were taken away, causing her to fall to the ground. She landed in a crumble, slightly away from James. Before she could reach out to check on her fellow Head, she found herself rolling away from an attack.

Except for the bloody shoulder, inflicted upon him by James, Voldemort had no other injuries and no conscience to stop him from inflicting injuries on others. Attacking Lily even while she was not ready brought no shame to him. And it made Lily mad beyond reason. Adrenaline surged through her body as she and Voldemort dueled at an amazing speed.

"_Reducto!_"

"_Imperio!_" Spells and curses were dodged and the two moved around each other like two animals fighting over the same prey. The scarf Lily had worn around her neck was shredded to pieces due to it being sliced one too many times by spells and curses she was trying to dodge. And adorning her body were various cuts and bruises from both Voldemort's wand and hitting the ground and surrounding shops.

"_Protego!_" Lily shouted at the last possible second. Breathing heavily, she fed her starved lungs oxygen. They'd been dueling intensely for close to ten minutes, although it seemed so much longer to Lily.

Voldemort laughed loudly. "For a mudblood, Evans, you are not a bad dueler!" He told her. He had also acquired a few more injuries during this duel and much more amusement.

"_Imperio!_" he brandished his wand again before Lily had a chance to recover some energy. The curse hit her directly in the chest and her eyes grew glassy.

- - - - - - - Hogwarts Castle

Meanwhile, the other prefects got the other students back to Hogwarts with no sightings of deatheaters. With orders to return directly to their common rooms, a small ensemble of students split from the mass of students. Gryffindor Prefects Ian Roberts (A/N: Aimie's little brother!), Seth Marks, and Artemis Winthrop, tailed by Ky Winthrop, headed rapidly up to the Headmaster's office.

"Artemis, do you know the password?" Ian asked as they barely made it off a staircase before it began to change and saw the Gargoyle that guarded the office come into sight.

"Yes." She answered. "_Drifter!"_ she said to the Gargoyle. Immediately, the stone stature sprang up and granted the passage way through the winding staircase that appeared.

"'Drifter'?" Seth questioned as they ran.

"It's a muggle candy made of wafers, caramel and chocolate." Ky explained. Ian and Seth shook their heads, knowing that Dumbledore's eccentricity was beyond their comprehension.

Without knocking, they barged in.

"Excuse the intrusion, Headmaster!" Artemis apologized immediately. Dumbledore stood and knew already, what was about to be said, merely by judging their behavior.

"Quite alright, Ms. Winthrop." He said congenially although he was already taking measures to stabilize the situation. "How can I help you?"

"Sir, Hogsmeade is under attack! Deatheaters! The Heads stayed back to give us all time to get the students back to Hogwarts safely but there's so many and they can't possibly manage to fight them all on their own!" Seth informed. Ian lost it then.

"SIR, PLEASE! We've got to do something! Aimie…" Ian's voice caught slightly at the thought of his sister and the endless possibilities of what might happen to her. "She's still there, sir!"

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Relax, dear boy. Relax." His voice rang soothingly although his eyes now held a determined look in them. Artemis slipped her hand comfortingly into Ian's.

"I will, of course, go myself to save them. They are, after all, my students." The four Gryffindors' immediately voiced their thanks and gratitude. A hand from Dumbledore quieted them. "I must ask you four to return to your common room for now and help maintain order."

- - - - - - - - - - Back at Hogsmeade

"EVANS!"

"LILY!"

"FIGHT IT!" Her friends voices from above sounded so far away even though they were floating just a few feet above her. The world around her began to fade and her thoughts focused on one voice.

"_Join my ranks, Evans, and kill your friends!"_ Voldemort's order roared through her mind as he said it quite simply.

"FIGHT IT, LILY!" Mimi cried out in despair.

Lily's body began to move slowly.

'Why?' Lily thought even as the curse controlled her. 'Why should I listen to him?'

"_Become my servant, Evans and KILL them!"_ Voldemort ordered once again, irritated that he had to repeat the order even while she was under his curse.

"Li…ly…" came a weak voice that no one besides Lily could hear.

From his place, having been unmoving for sometime due to the pain from the Cruciatus Curse inflicted on him, James' outstretched hand had slid from the ground to lightly grasp Lily's ankle that was closest to him.

"_Li…ly..."_ James' voice rang over and over again in her head.

Voldemort was becoming angrier as the seconds passed. Never would anyone have thought that a mere seventh year student could resist the Imperious Curse that the Dark Lord.

"_JOIN ME AND KILL THEM!" _he roared. The repeated phrases in Lily's head grew louder and louder and as her body tried to follow through the curse, James' hand on her ankle, Lily's inner turmoil caused her resistance to show through.

"_DO IT!"_ Voldemort ordered, pointing his wand more directly at Lily.

"NO!" Lily's fists clenched at her sides and her answer rang out strong and true as she threw off the curse, glaring directly at Voldemort.

"What?" Voldemort shrieked incredulously. Overhead, cheers erupted before a deatheater finally cast Silencing charms on them.

"I won't ever join a _snake_ like you! Mark my words!" she said.

Voldemort's eyes grew rabid and he raised his wand again. "Then marked they shall be!" he conceded. "On you grave!" he clarified.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

"_Protego Totalum Horribilis!"_ a calm voice said. A shield appeared before Lily, James and the other Gryffindors and swallowed up Voldemort's Killing curse. Slightly shaken and feeling the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins leaving her, Lily began to feel exhausted as all heads turned to find the owner of that voice.

"Professor Dumbledore..!" Lily said in relief. With a soothing look in his eyes, Dumbledore walked into the circle and towards Lily and James.

"Miss Evans, you have done well. Do not worry, I will handle this from here." He said soothingly.

Delirious now, Lily nodded without realizing it and succumbed to the blackness that had been threatening to envelope her so long ago. With a swish of her battered clothes, she fell on her side near James' body. Seeing the state they were in and the way the others were tied up like offerings, Dumbledore felt his blood boil slightly, but he kept his countenance calm, cool and collected.

"Threatening my students, Tom? I see you are as murderous as ever." He said in greeting as he faced Voldemort. Voldemort, who had been watching the exchange in shock, refused to let his fear cause him to falter.

"I am Lord Voldemort! I will not be called by that filthy name!" he roared, shaken more than he wanted to be.

"My apologies, Tom." Dumbledore said, ignoring the latter part of Voldemort's comment. Almost as if he was apologizing for this, Aurors began apparating into Hogsmeade

"You're a fool, Dumbledore. I will make you regret this one day! You can be sure of that!" And just as that, Voldemort disappeared with a POP! Immediately, the deatheaters followed their leader out of the village.

So I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I'd like to think it was well worth the wait. Chapter 12 is already in the making so please review lots (no flames please)!! Let's try for 50 again!! I love all of you for reading this and I really appreciate all the support I've been getting. This story will be long and I will follow it to the end. In the future I may ask you to bear with me because there may be periods of time where I cannot update at all because I am studying medicine and have my MCATs coming up next year shudders but I hope to see reviews from all of you even then!!

Btw, please visit my profile page and vote in the poll I have going on right now!! You're input is very much appreciated!! Thanks for reading!!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (ADDED OCTOBER 1, 2008):**

Hey guys! I'm really sorry about the delay in Chapter 12, it was not intentional. I've been out of the country taking care of my grandmother who broke her hip and I didn't have internet for the past few months (excruciating!!). The only time I could manage was keeping up with my online summer course while my uncle was sleeping, otherwise I didn't have any internet. But I'm back now and I'm a month into the school year and caught up so I'll finish chapter 12 soon and have it up! Things will speed up in the story slightly and if there's something specific you guys want to see, please don't hesitate to tell me!! (Things like interaction between certain characters or what not). Thanks to everyone who has kept reading my story!! I really appreciate it!! I love your reviews and hearing what you liked best in each chapter!! You're all the best!! Don't forget to review!! Much love!! Muah!

Love always,

Lunar Artemis xoxo


	12. Aftershock

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but everytime I see a shooting star (which has been twice in my life), I wish to own it-telling you that is probably why it hasn't come true yet. :-)

Thanks to those of you who reviewed Chapter 11! 41 reviews!!

Coolbluesmile, emerald-hazel eyes, black16lily, vintage bluejeans, BlAcKdAuGhTeR, modern-marauder, brianna24, L'Homme Poubelle, lilyevans-luvs-jamespotter, quidditchgirl13, KeeperofthePineNeedles, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, LilyHeartsMarauders, crzy-bout-edward-cullen, LoveLinkAndRobinHood, love109, WestSide Love, sarah franesca, katmewos4no1, Chelle-Lynn, angelofmynightmare, En-En-chan, freedec12, hockeygirl9, IrisWriter, JadeLA, dracosbabygrl, Magically Hermione, defg4567, lilyevans103, WhiteCamellia, KatrinaEagle, firequartz, Mai, pyromaniac007, Nashi217, alondra, Knight 03, Jasmine, Binka, and thatsrillyweird!

I'd like to say a few words, but I'll leave that until the end of the chapter!

Now without further ado…

Our Tower

Chapter 12 Aftershock

Shaking his head, Dumbledore turned towards his students that were tied up in the air as Aurors and Healers began dealing with those who were not Hogwarts students. Releasing them from the binds and slowly lowering them down, he reversed the silencing charm on them.

"James!" Sirius and Remus immediately went over to check on their fallen friend.

"Lily!" Aimie and Mimi, having the same notion as Sirius and Remus, went to check on their fallen friend as well. Peter just stood nearby.

"I apologize for not coming sooner. I came as soon as Misters Roberts, Winthrop, and Marks and Ms. Winthrop informed me of the situation." Dumbledore said as he knelt down to check on his fallen Heads. Looking up, Dumbledore saw an auror close by and called him over.

"Would be so kind as to call Healer Potter and Aurors Potter, Paulini and Paulini here?" Dumbledore said, glancing at Mimi. "I daresay they have some business here." The auror nodded and ran off, calling the aurors and healer with the issued communicators.

Within two seconds, a witch and a wizard had apparated beside them.

"James!" Aria Potter cried out at seeing her son lying unconscious and hurt on the ground. Immediately, she knelt down at her son's side to assess the damage done to his body.

"Aria!" Sirius said in surprise as he suddenly realized the Potters were there.

"Sirius," Harold Potter began, allowing his wife to tend to their son. "What happened?"

Sirius' fists clenched as he thought of how James' cries of agony and screams of pain filled the air and Sirius couldn't do anything about it. Seeing as Sirius wouldn't be able to get his tongue around the words, Remus stepped in.

"Harry." Remus said, effectively getting the auror's attention. "James was…" his own fists clenched at his sides as he thought of the battle.

"Voldemort used the Crutiatus on him." Remus said, closing his eyes as though it would make him forget the sound of his best friend's gut-wrenching screams.

Two more POPs were heard and two young aurors appeared beside the group.

"Mimi." A deep voice said. Mimi's eyes widened as she recognized two of them and she stood up. Shaken over the incident that had just occurred, she was more emotional than she usually would've been upon seeing her older brothers.

"Mike! Mark!" she cried, stumbling over to them and into their arms. She trembled as she felt their arms come around her, feeling safer. Mark pulled away, leaving Mimi to be held by his younger brother, Mike.

"Mimi, look at me." He said, waiting until Mimi had turned her face from Mike's shoulder to look at him. "Mimi, I need to know if you're hurt besides those cuts and bruises." He said, hoping she wasn't. Mark and Mike both sighed in relief when Mimi shook her head.

"But Aimie was put under the Crutiatus curse, and Lily was put under the Imperius curse." Mimi explained, biting back a sob as she looked at her fallen friend and the one that was injured and exhausted beside her.

Mark and Mike immediately looked over to see the two girls they'd taken in as younger sisters seven years ago and saw Lily lying unconscious in battered clothes, bleeding and bruised, and Aimie kneeling beside the redhead, administering basic healing spells.

"Aimie," Mike began, taking Mimi's hand and leading his sister and brother over to the girls. Aimie looked up and relief fell over her face at the sight of the two men.

"Mike, Mark." Aimie held out a hand to them and Mike knelt beside her, squeezing her hand in comfort. Mark began his own healing spells and spoke softly.

"It'll be alright, little girls." He said.

Night fell and Lily and James were transported to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts after being treated on site by Aria Potter. Aside from the Heads, none of the other students required an over night stay in the Wing. The Potters stayed in the Hospital Wing until Madame Pomfrey insisted they leave her patients to get some rest. Mike and Mark Paulini had checked in on Lily before leaving shortly before dinner.

Groggily, James' eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. He groaned, feeling heavy under the effects of the potions Madame Pomfrey had administered. He looked out the window to find the moon shining high and bright in the sky.

'What happened?' he asked himself. It was the middle of the night. Slowly, flashes of images floated through his head.

'Oh…the battle…' he remembered, still disoriented. 'Voldemort…I fought Voldemort.' James let himself stare at the ceiling.

"I can't believe I'm still alive!" he admitted softly in the quiet of the wing. Then the image flashed in his head of Lily under Voldemort's Imperius curse.

His eyes widened. 'Lily!' he thought wildly, wondering how she fared. He didn't remember. His head turned this way and that, ignoring the screaming his muscles were doing and he found Lily sleeping on the bed right next to his. He let out an audible sigh, a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding.

"Thank Merlin.' He thought. He couldn't explain the feeling that had just coursed through his veins, so he blamed it on the potions in his bloodstream. Upon looking at her, James didn't see any major flesh wounds, granted fatigue was plainly seen. A strong urge to speak to her came over him. He needed to see if she was fine overall.

"Lily!" he whispered, loud enough for her to hear. He sat up in his bed and swung his legs over the side towards Lily. "Lily!" he tried again, when she didn't move.

This time, Lily shifted slightly in her sleep and groaned. James knew she was coming out of her sleep.

"Psst…Lily!" he said sharply in a loud whisper. 'Bingo!' he thought triumphantly when her eyes fluttered open. He watched her and knew the exact moment the fog from the potions cleared because it showed in her eyes.

Lily turned her head and found herself staring at Head Boy Extraordinaire, James Potter. She opened her mouth to say something and found her voice stuck in her throat, so she closed her mouth again, much like a guppy.

James smiled at her. She looked adorable. Her hair was mused from sleep, her face held evidence of fatigue by the faint bruising under her eyes and she was dressed in the infamous pajamas of the Hospital Wing.

But he thought she looked great.

With some difficulty that only made her more determined to succeed, Lily pushed herself up into a sitting position, gladly leaning against the pillows at her back. Her blanket pooled loosely in her lap and she regarded James.

"Headmaster Dumbledore saved us." She said first. James nodded.

"Yes, I don't know the details of what happened after that. I blacked out shortly thereafter." He admitted. Lily bit her lip. She _did_ remember him falling unconscious. Her eyes scanned his body and flared briefly at the redness around his neck where from he had been strangled by Voldemort.

James stood from his bed and lowered himself onto the side of Lily's bed, facing her. His hand landed on hers, but neither said anything.

"How do you feel?" he asked her softly, looking into her emerald green orbs. Lily found herself being hypnotized by his chocolate brown eyes and forced herself to snap out of it.

"I'm alright." She answered. "How are you?" she asked. Her fingers itched to erase the red bruises from his neck. Instead, she forced them deeper into her blanket.

"Surprisingly well." James admitted. Neither of them realized that this was one of the first times that they had talked civilly with each other with genuine concern for the other since their friendship had broken.

"You mean after having faced off against Voldemort?" Lily asked, feeling the same way. James grinned at her.

"Precisely." He said. The hand he had covering one of hers had found comfortable purchase and was caressing Lily's hand with the thumb.

Lily finally noticed the tingling feeling was from James' caress and not the pain relieving potions on her bedside table. Her eyes fluttered back up to James and she hesitated before continuing.

"Why are you doing this, James?" she asked vaguely. James regarded her, his expression unchanged.

"This?" he asked, raising his hand which held her smaller one in it.

"Yes…a-and no." she said. "Everything. Why did you care for me when I was sick? Why did you defend me so…_completely_ during the duels, even once Voldemort had gotten to you? _Why?_" she asked him.

"Because you're on-" James tried. Lily interrupted.

"James, please. Don't give me that rubbish about being on the same Quidditch team. Give me a real explanation." Lily sighed. "Please."

James let out a quick breath. She wasn't going to let him off easily.

With his free hand, he curled in under her hair around the back of her slender neck and then placed his lips gently on hers.

Lily didn't hesitate. Her response was torn out of her before she could think about it. Her free hand came up to fist the pajama top covering James' chest. With his hand around the back of her neck, Lily's head was forced back, giving James maximum access to her. He nibbled on her lower lip and stuck his tongue out to soothe it. Immediately, Lily opened her mouth to his probing tongue, which she met with hers.

The kiss had been initially sweet, but suddenly was gearing towards hot and heavy. Moaning, James lingered for a moment longer before he pulled away. Breathing heavily, both of them stared into each other's eyes, leaning against the other's forehead.

"Well, there is that." He answered, belatedly. Their faces were so close; Lily could feel the heat of his breath on her face, particularly her lips.

'My lips are tingling…' was one of the first thoughts. She stared and then swallowed audibly. James smiled slightly.

"Aside from that, I can't explain it. But I won't sit by and watch someone in danger." He said. That was as true as could be. From the first day they had met, James had expressed his dream and ambitions to be an auror; Lily had no doubt he'd be one either.

"That's physical attraction. We know it's not enough. And we're mature enough not to _pursue_ it." Lily said, trying to sound convincing. Of course, every nerve in her body was telling her yes, but her head was telling her no. And her lips were tingling…

"On the contrary, Lily." James began, allowing his hand to slide from around her neck to frame her face. "I think it's more accurate if we said we are mature enough…to _seek_ it." He said, his thumb caressing her cheekbone as his other one was caressing her hand.

Lily was entranced. She blinked and suddenly, forced herself to snap out of it.

"No…No." she repeated, uncurling her hand from his pajama top and pulling her other hand out from under his. She pushed him away, albeit gently, but pushed him away nonetheless. "Physical attraction is not a reason to …We don't even like each other." She rephrased, almost desperately.

"We did at one time." He reminded. Lily's eyes flared at the reminder of how it changed, but she hooded her eyes quickly by her eyelashes.

"And for lack of trust, that broke in less than a minute." She reminded hollowly. "I'm tired now, Potter." She said using his surname for the first time that entire night.

"Good night." She said, with a tone not of rudeness, but of finality. The conversation was over for now.

"Good night." James said softly, getting up from her bed and going back to his own. By the time he'd taken off his glasses, he noticed that Lily had already lowered herself back onto her bed in a lying position and was asleep.

Or just really good at playing Possum.

So I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I'd like to think it was well worth the wait. This was one of my hardest chapters to write so far. I'd experienced a huge writer's block for a while and life bit me in the ass for sometime this past few months, but I finally got back to my writing this month. I rewrote it three times so please review lots (no flames please)!! Let's try for 50 again!! I love all of you for reading this and I really appreciate all the support I've been getting. This story will be long and I will follow it to the end. In the future I may ask you to bear with me because there may be periods of time where I cannot update at all because I am studying medicine and have my MCATs coming up next year *shudders* but I hope to see reviews from all of you even then!!

Love always,

Lunar Artemis xoxo


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